


Mao Mao: Search for Answers

by Zephyrous



Category: Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart (Cartoon)
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Eventual Romance, Exploration, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Plot, Questioning, Slow Burn, Soft Boys, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2020-10-12 21:27:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 43,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20571158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zephyrous/pseuds/Zephyrous
Summary: Another day passes where nothing happens, and Mao Mao is not enjoying it. When something finally happens, though, Mao Mao and Badgerclops aren't prepared for its severity.





	1. Prologue

A golden sword gleamed in the moonlight as a cloth ran over it once, twice, and thrice before being put away. The red glove lingered on the sheath for a second, before being returned to the wearer’s lap.

Mao Mao stood up from where he sat on the porch and looked out to the Pure Heart Valley, still and bathed in a soft, blue light.

Another day had passed. Mao Mao gritted his teeth. Another day where absolutely _ nothing _ happened. Sure, he had solved two civilian disputes, but even an unqualified babysitter could have solved their problems. Mao Mao drew his sword and pointed it toward the town. It had been almost two weeks since any real threat had struck the town. Even the Sky Pirates hadn’t interfered as they usually would. Mao Mao narrowed his eyes and yelled, proceeding to throw his sword into the grass. It _ irritated _him. His hands grew restless once more, gripping the air again and again at his sides. He was considering doing another hour in the dojo, even if it would be his sixth one that day. 

“Hey man, you okay?” Mao Mao heard a voice ask, instantly twirling around to see Badgerclops standing at the front door with a worried expression.

“Oh, Badgerclops,” Mao Mao coughed and cleared his throat, “what brings you out here?”

“Well, you kinda yelled loudly, for starters,” Badgerclops said, walking to his friend’s side. “Wait,” Badgerclops squinted and looked out, “is that your sword in the grass?”

“Ah, er, um,” Mao Mao struggled to find a response as Badgerclops walked out to retrieve the sword.

“Dude, you’ve been really restless these past few days,” Badgerclops commented as he handed back the sword. “Is it because it’s been a minute since we’ve fought anything?”

“I…” Mao Mao averted his gaze towards the ground as he put his sword back into its sheath, “I hate not doing anything.”

“Just because we haven’t had any epic battles doesn’t mean we haven’t done _ anything _,” Badgerclops said. “Remember that we had to get Pinky to stop harassing Blue about entertaining his, uh,” Badgerclops stopped and shuddered, “strange interests?”

“Why would you remind me of that?”

“Right,” Badgerclops chuckled, “maybe that was a bad example.” Badgerclops plopped down and motioned for Mao Mao to sit next to him. “But dude, I seriously think you need this break. You’re always up and doing things.” Badgerclops looked off to the side and paused for a second. “When we got back from the town, all you did was retreat to the dojo.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Mao Mao huffed as he sat down. “A hero has to train constantly to ensure that he remains in top shape.”

“Yeah, sure,” Badgerclops rubbed the back of his head, “but I think there’s a limit to how much you train before it’s overkill.”

“Oh yeah?” Mao Mao leaned in closer. “And how exactly do you determine that I’ve gone _ too _ far?”

“Dude!” Badgerclops shouted. “Have you seen the state the dojo is in right now? It looks like a junkyard!”

Mao Mao put a finger to his chin as he tried to remember how he left the area. However, he found that he didn’t really have any memories of being in the dojo. He spent so much time in there the past few days, but all he could remember was

Static.

“It’s probably still in usable condition,” Mao Mao scoffed as he proceeded to get up.

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to go back right now.”

Mao Mao stopped in his tracks. He didn’t turn around, but he could feel Badgerclops’s eyes on him. The only sound that filled the space was the rustle of the leaves as a gentle breeze passed over the area.

Badgerclops looked away again and towards the moon. “Dude, I get you like being serious with your training,” he began to stand up, “but I feel that this isn’t just about training.” He inched closer and spoke softly, “I know you try to hide it, but I can tell when something’s up.”

Mao Mao looked down and sighed. He knew he couldn’t hide things from Badgerclops, not after they’d been partners for so long. Mao Mao closed his eyes and turned around. “I’m sorry, Badgerclops. It’s just been a little rough.”

Suddenly, Mao Mao felt himself being pulled into a large, warm wall of fur.

“H-Hey, what are you doing?!” Mao Mao shouted as he struggled against Badgerclops’s embrace.

“Just reminding you that you have friends you can talk to,” Badgerclops smiled as he squeezed harder, causing Mao Mao to give a pained grunt.

“Stop, you’re stronger than you look!” Mao Mao wheezed.

Badgerclops let go and chuckled. “There we go. That’s the Mao Mao I know and love.” 

Mao Mao simply grumbled in response. “Whatever, let’s just get a move on,” he began, but as soon as he took a step forward, a spell of dizziness hit him, causing him to collapse onto his knees.

“Dude, you okay?!” Badgerclops swiftly kneeled to place a hand on Mao Mao’s back and chest, trying to help him up.

“Aha…, I guess I may have trained my body to its limit,” Mao Mao coughed softly. Even with Badgerclops supporting him, he couldn’t seem to push himself back up. “So much for trying to stay strong, right?” The static was becoming stronger. “No matter how much I try, I always end up on the ground again, unable to stand for myself.” Mao Mao’s eyes started to water. “I always end up weak again,” he sniffled.

Badgerclops stared on solemnly, idly rubbing Mao Mao’s back. Then, as if a sudden realization hit him, he picked Mao Mao up and cradled him close to his chest.

“What are you doing?” Mao Mao tried shifting around in resistance, but he only tired himself more.

“Carrying you because you’re obviously too tired to stand.”

“Excuses, I’m just weak,” Mao Mao began to cry, before being shoved deeper into Badgerclops’s chest.

“I can’t hear you,” Badgerclops whistled as he started walking back towards the house.

Mao Mao tried to protest, but he couldn’t keep his eyes open. His muttering slowly died as he listened to the soft beating of his partner’s heart. The rhythmic thumping was soothing, and Mao Mao felt his eyes begin to dry as Badgerclops closed the door behind them.

Badgerclops surveyed the area. The house was quiet, the living room still in a slight state of disarray from when Adorabat and he were watching a movie earlier that night. Empty wrappers and scattered crumbs were littered all over the top of the table. Badgerclops gave a mental sigh, glad that Adorabat hadn’t woken up at any point. He looked down to see how Mao Mao was fairing, expecting a scowl upon his visage or something to that extent, but Badgerclops was surprised to see him sleeping soundly in his arms. He had passed out quickly, most likely because the strain he had put on himself mentally the past few days had finally caught up to him.

Badgerclops looked towards where their room was, then back to the couch. For some reason, he felt hesitant to go back into the room. Actually, he felt hesitant to put the cat down. He looked down to where Mao Mao slept in his arms and relished in the warmth that he gave off. Looking back to the hallway, Badgerclops nodded to himself and decided that they should sleep on the couch. After all, he didn’t want to wake Adorabat while he was setting Mao Mao down or climbing back to his bunk. Yeah, that must be why he was hesitant, he thought as he moved towards the couch to sit down.

He looked over the mess again made a mental note to wake up early to clean it all. There was no telling how long Mao Mao would lecture him if he woke up to all the chaos.

Carefully, Badgerclops lay down, pushing up against the back of the sofa to make a space where he could lay Mao Mao down. With his robotic arm, he reached over his friend to grab a cover that had fallen onto the floor, shaking it softly to remove any excess chip crumbs. He laid the cover over both of them. Then, with a content sigh, he pulled Mao Mao closer to him and melted into his warmth. 

It wasn’t long before the badger joined the cat in the world of dreams, their soft snoring filling the room with an intangible, ineffable emotion of love that neither could actualize yet.

* * * 

Mao Mao’s eyes slowly fluttered opened. His first thought of the morning was about his dream, which has been surprisingly pleasant. He found it odd, considering he had just cried right before. He casually wondered what could have caused it, especially when, for the past few nights in a row, he could only remember having nightmares.

His second thought was that he wasn’t in his bunk bed.

Mao Mao quickly sprang to his feet, looking at his surroundings. He was in the living room, and the cover that had been on him had fallen to the floor when he jumped up. Other than that, nothing stuck out to him, other than the movement he heard from the kitchen.

He pondered why Badgerclops had set him down on the couch. Was it really that much of a hassle to carry him and set him down in his own bed? He gritted his teeth and sighed, _ someone _was going to have to explain themselves later.

Mao Mao made his way to the kitchen, where he saw Badgerclops fiddling with the stove. He saw three plates of eggs already set up on the table.

“Good morning, Badgerclops,” Mao Mao said.

“Oh!” Badgerclops turned around and smiled. “I thought you’d be asleep for a little longer.”

“Why? Sleep is for the tired, and a hero is never-”

“Whatever, man,” Badgerclops cut him off as he sat down at the table and began eating. “I’m not entertaining your made-up standards this early in the morning.”

Mao Mao simply huffed as he stared at the badger. “Has Adorabat not woken up yet? That’s uncharacteristic,” he commented as he sat down next to Badgerclops.

Badgerclops gulped and hummed. “Actually, yeah. I haven’t seen her yet. Let me go check,” he said as he got up and made his way to the room.

Mao Mao looked at the plate in front of him and proceeded to start eating. He was surprised to find that the food was more edible, maybe actually, dare he say, _ good _ this time? Maybe he could compliment Badgerclops on something other than his jelly cake.

He heard Badgerclops’s footsteps and proceeded to clear his throat. “Hey, Badgerclops, I wanted to say-”

Mao Mao was abruptly cut off as a piece of paper was shoved into his face. “Why’d you do that?” He grumbled.

“Dude,” Badgerclops held the note at a distance where Mao Mao could see it. It was tattered, and crude black ink was scrawled across it, trying to form coherent words. Mao Mao quickly read over it, realization and fear slowly seeping into face. He looked towards Badgerclops for some reassurement, but he was only met with the same eyes.

Badgerclops placed the note on the table.

“Someone kidnapped Adorabat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! This is my first work, so thanks for reading.  
This is being written as the show airs, so sorry if any inconsistencies arise down the line, ha ha!  
Anyways, leave any feedback or comments if you so wish, and I hope that you enjoyed this prologue.


	2. Inquiries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mao Mao and Badgerclops begin their investigation.

The letter sat on the table, and for a moment neither Mao Mao nor Badgerclops dared to move.

Then, in a split second, Mao Mao darted past Badgerclops, catching him off guard as the cat rushed to the room.

“Adorabat? Adorabat?!” Mao Mao frantically shrieked as he practically tore the room apart, searching for any other traces of her whereabouts. He felt a mechanical claw grab him firmly, holding him in place as Badgerclops rushed into the room.

“Dude, you have to calm down!” Badgerclops shouted as he saw tears already running down Mao Mao’s face. He pulled him in and let the cat cry into his fur.

“It’s my fault. I wasn’t here for Adorabat, and now she’s gone!” he wallowed.

“Hey, it is absolutely _ not _your fault. How could we have known that this would happen?” Badgerclops tried reaffirming.

“If I had been in the room, maybe I would have caught them in the act,” Mao Mao continued.

Badgerclops grimaced as a nasty thought entered his mind. Was it his fault that Adorabat had been kidnapped? After all, he was the one who decided to have them sleep on the couch. Could they have prevented this if they went to the room?

Badgerclops felt Mao Mao clutching at his fur, and he quickly tried pushing the thought out of his mind. He couldn’t break down here, not with Mao Mao needing someone to anchor him down. Right now, he needed to be his support.

“Okay,” Badgerclops put a claw to Mao Mao’s chin and raised it, noticing how his tears had already matted the fur under his eyes. “Adorabat is gone, and blaming ourselves for that isn’t gonna fix this.”

Mao Mao looked ready to burst into tears again.

“But!” Badgerclops kneeled so that they were at eye level with each other, “what _ will _ fix this is going out there and looking for her.” Badgerclops reaffirmed his grip and pulled Mao Mao closer. “It’s not even about what a hero would do at this point.” Badgerclops pointed one of his claws into Mao Mao’s chest. “It’s about what _ you _ would do, and I know you’d get ready to go save Adorabat.”

And for the first time that morning since they had gotten the letter, Mao Mao could hear his friend over the static. A part of him wanted to yell that he wasn’t a hero. A part of him wanted to curl up and accept his fate, forever losing Adorabat and letting the rest of the world pass him by.

But he felt Badgerclops place his entire hand on his chest, and he looked up to see him smile. It wasn’t a smile of glee or happiness, but rather a smile of acceptance. A smile that reminded Mao Mao that he _ wasn’t _alone.

Maybe he didn’t feel he was hero enough to save Adorabat, but Badgerclops was right. That didn’t matter right now. Whatever label or word he wanted to ascribe to himself didn’t matter. Weakness didn’t matter, nor did failure.

Because Mao Mao would go save Adorabat.

Slowly, Mao Mao wiped the tears from his eyes. Sniffling one last time, Mao Mao cleared his throat and spoke, “Thank you, Badgerclops. Sometimes, I get carried away by my emotions.”

“Oh, I’m well aware of your exaggeration habits,” he laughed, standing back up.

Mao Mao simply gave him a death glare.

“Sheesh!” Badgerclops put his hands up defensively, “we’re supposed to work together, dude.” 

Mao Mao sighed and began dusting himself off. “Well, this is no time to be lollygagging. Let’s get a move on!” Mao Mao shouted as he began running out of the room, before being stopped once again by a mechanical arm.

“Before we do that,” Badgerclops grabbed Mao Mao by his sides and began carrying him.

“What are you doing? Unhand me!” the cat said furiously.

“Ah, there’s the Mao Mao Mao I know,” Badgerclops smiled as he opened the bathroom door.

“Say that again and you’ll be wearing two eyepatches!” he yelled, trying to reach for his sword.

“Maybe that’ll be better than looking at this,” Badgerclops reached the mirror and plopped Mao Mao down in front of it.

“Why? What’s wrong with my-” Mao Mao was going to start, but he realized what Badgerclops was talking about once he saw his reflection.

To say that he looked frazzled was an understatement. In the five or so minutes that had passed since they’d received the letter, Mao Mao had devolved into a _ shambolic _ ball of fur. Stray hairs stuck out everywhere, and the matted fur on his cheeks only helped to exacerbate the slight puffiness his eyes still held.

“I see what you mean,” Mao Mao muttered. “Alright, give me a few minutes to freshen up, then we can be on our way.” He motioned for Badgerclops to leave, then closed the door behind him.

Badgerclops smiled and walked back towards the kitchen, finding comfort in hearing the water beginning to run.

He looked at the table and exhaled. There, sat two plates of partially eaten eggs, a plate completely untouched, and the ominous letter.

Badgerclops began picking up the plates, promptly emptying their contents into his mouth. After all, there was no reason to let the food go to waste. In fact, he was glad that Mao Mao had actually tried eating his cooking this time. Whether he liked it or not, it was better than the long list of complaints he usually got from his friend. Which, Badgerclops pondered while putting the dishes away in the sink, was unjustified because he never actually tasted the stuff he complained about.

Badgerclops grabbed the letter tenderly and returned to the living room. In all honesty, he found it hard to leave Mao Mao’s side when he had woken up. At the time, sunlight had just started filtering through the windows. The way the golden rays of sunlight illuminated Mao Mao’s face as he snored peacefully actually made him want to pull him in closer. Even thinking about it now, Badgerclops felt his chest warm at the image. He couldn’t give the feeling a name, but he knew that he wanted to support Mao Mao. This hasn’t been the first time he’s felt the feeling before, either. Sometimes, when things pile on top of each other, Badgerclops will see Mao Mao regress into a much more vulnerable state, and this was certainly one of those times. When he sees it, he feels a need, an urge, to be Mao Mao’s anchor and keep him from flying away.

He placed the letter on the coffee table and sat down. Even staring at it dampened his mood and implanted seeds of worry in his stomach. Even though there were parts of the letter that were illegible, he could still make out other parts of the letter: 

_ Sheriff, let’s have some fun. _

_ Interrogation is key, but know that curiosity killed the cat. _

_ Things will be fine, as long as you play along. _

It scared him, but it also infuriated him. To think that someone would have the audacity to threaten _ death _ made Badgerclops grit his teeth. He wanted to blast the letter with a laser, and simply watch the ashes drift off in the wind, but his rational side reminded him that this was their only clue for Adorabat’s location for the time being. It would be unwise to throw it, even if it did invoke such ugly feelings.

Badgerclops heard the bathroom door open and watched as Mao Mao appeared from the hallway, his fur still puffed from drying. Badgerclops giggled at the sight.

“It’ll take a minute to return to its heroic form,” Mao Mao remarked, trying to pat his fur down, “but that’s a minute we can’t waste. To the aerocycle!” Mao Mao yelled triumphantly as he raced to the garage.

Badgerclops shoved the letter into one of the pockets on his leather sash and followed pursuit, glad to have his partner back.

* * *

King Snugglemagne lazed on his throne, indulging in various exotic fruits that had been imported solely for himself. He was in the middle of raising another strand of fruit to his maw when the door burst open, catching him off guard and causing him to unexpectedly drop the fruit down his throat.

“Your grace!” Mao Mao did a flip and bowed before the king. “Apologies for bothering you in your humble abode this early in the morning, but I’m afraid that-”

“Uh, dude,” Badgerclops pointed towards the king with a worried expression, “I think he’s choking.”

“You think who the what now?” Mao Mao asked, getting up confused before his eyes laid sight on King Snugglemagne, whose face was quickly turning various shades of aubergine.

“Y-Your Majesty!” Mao Mao yelled, quickly darting forward to assist the asphyxiating lion.

* * *

After about five minutes of groveling, the king finally huffed and rolled his eyes at Mao Mao, who was starting to form a red stop on his forehead.

“Yes, I suppose I can forgive your gaffe now,” he signaled with a dismissive hand. “Rise sheriff; I’ve tired of this charade.”

Badgerclops promptly picked Mao Mao up and placed him upright, certain that his poor friend was traumatized by his actions because he failed to stop apologizing until ten seconds after he had been lifted off the ground.

“But yes, it is quite early for you to be arriving at my humble abode, is it not? I didn’t accidentally set the royal alarm off, did I?” He questioned as Quinton carried the rest of his platter away.

“First off, your ‘abode,’” Badgerclops emphasized with double air quotes, “is anything but humble. Secondly,” he pulled out the letter from his pocket, “we got an ominous message, and we wanted to ask if you knew anything about it.”

King Snugglemagne didn’t even skim the letter, already pushing against the back of his throne to try and put distance between the two. “Oh, get that thing away from me!” He cried. “It smells of sewer water!”

Mao Mao raised an eyebrow. “It doesn't smell like anything to me.”

“I have a sensitive nose,” the king whimpered.

“I think you’re just sensitive,” Badgerclops smiled as he put the note away.

“Well, sheriff, has any harm befallen my subjects since this letter has come to light?” The king asked, getting comfortable and lying down on his throne once again.

Mao Mao averted his eyes and gritted his teeth. “Adorabat’s gone missing.”

“Oh, dear heavens!” King Snugglemagne cried as he rose from the throne and leaped into his designated wallowing couch, quickly appearing from an unknown location in the castle as Quinton paused to catch his breath.

“It’s okay, though,” Badgerclops said as he moved towards the couch. “We’re looking for her right now, and as far as we know, no one else has gone missing.”

“Have you noticed anything strange in the kingdom recently?” Mao Mao asked.

“Well, no,” King Snugglemagne replied as he sat up. “The kingdom has been quite peaceful recently, no doubt thanks to the efforts of the sheriff’s department.”

“What about the sweetypies? Have they noticed anything?” Mao Mao continued questioning, somehow procuring a notepad that he was now taking notes on, confusing Badgerclops. Maybe he had learned something for Adorabat’s magic show?

The king simply laughed in response. “Why on earth would I ask the peasants about their daily functions?” He motioned for Quinton to bring out the platter of fruit again, ready to finish his snack. “If the sweetypies have seen anything strange, they’re bound to gossip amongst themselves for days about it. Maybe you’ll have some luck asking them.”

Mao Mao sighed and put the notepad away. “Thank you for your time, your grace.” Mao Mao bowed once again. “We’ll leave you now.”

“Do come by again, sheriff,” King Snugglemagne replied, swatting away Badgerclops’s hand as he reached for some of the fruit. “I do enjoy your company when I’m not choking. Ta ta~”

“Yes, your Majesty,” Mao Mao quickly rushed out of the throne room, face flushed with embarrassment.

“Dude, you’re good,” Badgerclops said as he followed, plopping the single grape he was able to acquire while the king was distracted into his mouth. “So you almost killed the king, big deal.”

“It is very much a big deal!” Mao Mao shouted as he flailed his arms about rapidly. “What deputy kills their king? Some hero I-”

Badgerclops shoved Mao Mao into his chest again, petting his head this time. “Shut up for, like, two seconds,” he said, smiling.

Surprisingly, Mao Mao didn’t resist this time, simply letting the badger do as he pleased as his shoulders began to lose their tension.

After Badgerclops let him go, Mao Mao turned around and sneered, “Are you just going to shove me into your belly each time you want me to calm down?”

Badgerclops hummed for a second. “If it works,” he laughed.

“Whatever,” Mao Mao quickly retorted as he sped towards the aerocycle. “We have some sweetypies to question,” he rapidly put his helmet on, trying to hide the blush that was clearly painted on his face.

* * *

Mao Mao groaned loudly and slammed his face into the wooden table.

“Dude,” Badgerclops said as he shoved another bagel into his face.

“We’ve come up with nothing, Badgerclops,” Mao Mao exhaled as he shifted his face to look at his partner, refusing to pick up his head. “I could compile all the useless information we’ve gathered and publish it under a book titled ‘The Daily Life of a Sweetypie.’”

“Heh, I’d buy that,” Badgerclops chuckled. “Maybe with the profit we make off of the book, we can pay a ransom to have Adorabat back.”

“This isn’t the time to be joking about that!” Mao Mao yelled.

“Mao Mao, I didn’t expect you to be here,” a monotone voice spoke.

“Who is it now?” Mao Mao grumbled as he scratched his pen against the notepad.

“Oh, hey Ol’ Blue,” Badgerclops waved.

Mao Mao’s heart froze. Suddenly, he jumped up from his seat and placed himself on Badgerclops’s back to hide. Just as he had said, a blue dog stared at the couple dully, carrying a book in his paws.

“I missed you at this week’s appointment, sheriff,” Blue said, looking down at his book.

“He missed his last appointment?” Badgerclops questioned, side-eyeing the sweating cat.

“Yes, well, uh,” Mao Mao scratched the back of his head as he searched for an excuse. “I’ve been quite busy keeping the valley safe. It gets hard to keep up with all my appointments when I’m so busy,” the cat nervously laughed.

“I’ve never changed your appointment time. It’s the same day and time each week.”

Mao Mao’s grin widened in response as he avoided Badgerclops’s narrowing eyes.

“But, the town has been quieter these past few days, so I guess you really have been putting in the effort.”

“Right,” Mao Mao replied, his breath finally settling.

“Hey, Blue,” Badgerclops started, seizing the opportunity, “has any sweetypie told you about something, well, out of the ordinary or strange recently?”

“Well,” Blue paused for a second, “yes.”

“Really?” The couple almost flipped the table leaning in, alarming the dog and causing him to take a step back.

“Yes, but the information I discuss with my clients is supposed to be confidential, so I’m afraid I can’t comment anymore,” he said, turning around.

Suddenly, Blue felt a metal claw grip him, and he was hoisted into the air. He yelped in surprise, and fear slowly registered in his eyes as he saw the cat approaching with a sadistic grin.

“Blue, you _ will _tell me what you’ve heard.”

“S-Sheriff, this is a bit unethical, don’t you think?” Blue stammered as he tried to struggle against Badgerclops’s grip.

“What’s going to be unethical is what I’m going to do if you don’t tell me what you’ve heard,” he whispered, drawing his sword.

Blue screamed.

* * *

Badgerclops dismounted the aerocycle and breathed in. In front of them laid the various electronics and other heirlooms that the sweetypies had decided to toss for Takesgiving. For some reason, they had never come back to retrieve them from the wooden shack. In reality, they most likely forgot about them.

Mao Mao hopped up onto his bike and surveyed the area. The sun was starting to set, bathing the area in a golden light that complemented the orange and brown hues of the leaves scattered everywhere. Nothing stuck out in particular, but Mao Mao could sense that something was different. He hopped down from the aerocycle and began jumping from pile to pile, cautiously turning his head left and right as he motioned for Badgerclops to follow.

He watched as Badgerclops simply walked up the path towards the steps of the house, knocking twice on the wooden door.

“Badgerclops!” Mao Mao angrily whispered. “Why are you knocking as if anyone’s going to answer?”

“Oh, you’re right,” he laughed until he heard movement on the other side. Swiftly, Badgerclops readied a laser and fired it at the door, blasting clear through it and the other side of the cabin, along with every other thing in its path for a couple of meters.

“Why’d you do that?” Mao Mao shouted as he rushed to his side, only to see a blur rush by a couple of boxes in the cabin.

Mao Mao readied his sword and stepped through the hole in the door. He readied himself to meet the culprit that had cowardly kidnapped Adorabat. His grip on his blade strengthened, and his eyes narrowed further.

In the corner of his eye, he saw the thing rush by again. Swiftly, Mao Mao sliced the area, destroying various crates and television sets, but revealing no culprit.

Again, another blur appeared and Mao Mao attacked as if it were second nature. There was more material carnage, but no culprit to be found in the scraps.

Badgerclops readied a laser and stood behind Mao Mao, ready to disintegrate the person that _ dared _ to threaten his partner.

Suddenly, the blur appeared again, but it tripped over some of the scraps that Mao Mao had created. Mao Mao readied his sword and Badgerclops aimed his laser. Both were ready to finish the enemy.

“Wait!” A scruffy voice called as the culprit crawled out of the shadows, revealing Pinky covered in mayonnaise.

“What?!” Badgerclops shouted as he tried to redirect his laser, too late to cancel it. Suddenly, the cabin was bathed in a blinding blue light as the laser was fired upwards. After the flash had cleared, the three occupants looked up to see a gaping hole in the roof.

“Pinky, what are you doing here?!” Mao Mao yelled in anger as the sweetypie clumsily tried to stand while covered in mayonnaise.

“Why are you asking? I’m not doing anything illegal,” Pinky grunted as he licked his fingers.

“Trespassing is illegal!” Mao Mao shouted as he stabbed his sword into the floor.

“How did you even move that fast?” Badgerclops questioned.

“I was in my final form,” Pinky nonchalantly answered as he slipped and fell on his face.

“And what happened to this ‘final form?’” Badgerclops stared in disgust as Pinky struggled to get up once again.

“I get shy in front of people,” he blushed.

“Alright, we’re arresting you later,” Badgerclops pointed a claw at Pinky as he continued licking his arms. “Well, false alarm then,” he laughed as he looked around for his partner. “Uh, Mao Mao?” he called, noticing the sword sticking out of the wooden floor. Swiftly grabbing it, Badgerclops walked out of the hole in the door to see Mao Mao at the bottom of the path, seated with his head between his knees.

“I don’t get it,” Mao Mao mumbled, hearing Badgerclops’s steps as he quickly dashed down the hill. “We searched all day for a lead, and we only come up with this: a dead end.” Mao Mao grasped at his knees harder and sat in silence.

Badgerclops sat beside him and exhaled. He didn’t know what to say. Mao Mao was right. Blue shades had already invaded the area, the golden hue of promise replaced by the cold grip of reality. What were they supposed to do now? Their lead had up and vanished in an instant, leaving them both in uncertain darkness.

Slowly, Badgerclops raised an arm and put it around Mao Mao, drawing him closer. Not long after, Mao Mao raised his paws and wrapped them as far as they could reach around Badgerclops’s torso.

They both sat there in silence, neither daring to move. Maybe they refused to move because moving from their spot would mean realizing their worst fears: losing Adorabat forever. That’s what they reasoned to themselves, and so they sat still.

But, in their heart of hearts, they found solace in each other’s warmth. They wondered if this was their kismet. And, if it was, was it so _ bad _? Was this selfishness, or realism? What could they do except hold each other? Once they let go, where would they find their missing warmth? If this wasn’t the ending they wanted, was it the ending they deserved?

They couldn’t even answer a single question, so they continued sitting together, strengthening their embrace.

Badgerclops heard an annoying laugh, so he opened one eye to see Pinky running around, having cleaned most of himself off. He watched as Pinky rushed past some trees, running directly into the large opening that led to the city sewers.

Badgerclops closed his eyes again, not caring enough to save Pinky from whatever fate he deserved.

He pondered for a bit.

Wondering.

“Ah!” Badgerclops loudly yelled, catching Mao Mao, who was almost fully asleep, off guard as he jumped up in fright.

“What?” Mao Mao asked, adrenaline rushing through his system.

“Do you remember what the king said about the letter?!” Badgerclops exclaimed, hastily pulling out the letter and pointing off in the distance.

Mao Mao followed his claw, and his eyes landed upon the entrance to the sewers. The final piece fell into place, and Mao Mao gasped.

“The sewers! King Snugglemagne said the letter smelled of sewer water,” Mao Mao exclaimed excitedly.

“So our kidnapper must have written the letter in the sewer system!”

“Yes! Badgerclops, you’re a genius!” Mao Mao exclaimed as he grabbed his sword from off the ground where Badgerclops had placed it. “We can’t waste any more time; Adorabat is waiting for us!”

Badgerclops nodded, and the couple raced to the large entrance.

Stopping in front of the mouth, Badgerclops and Mao Mao peered inside. It was completely dark, and a very faint laughing sound could be heard from inside.

“Pinky, go to bed!” Badgerclops yelled into the tunnel, hearing it echo against the various chambers inside.

The moon was already high, night having fully descended upon the area. Badgerclops readied a flame that acted as a makeshift torch.

“We really have to explore the sewer system at night, huh?” Badgerclops asked.

“If we waste any more time, who knows what’ll happen?” Mao Mao replied, readying his blade.

“So,” Badgerclops hummed, “I’m mostly useless here because I need to provide light. Also, if I use my laser, we’ll destroy the town’s sewage system.”

“You make good points,” Mao Mao put a finger to his chin and thought.

Badgerclops also knew he had never been one for spelunking, especially when he and Mao Mao first met. “I believe in you, though. Whatever’s in this dank place, I think you can take on easily,” Badgerclops huffed.

“Thanks, Badgerclops,” Mao Mao gave a slight smile.

“Plus,” Badgerclops formed his free hand into a fist and gave a fist pump, “I have one hand I can fight with.”

Out of the blue, Mao Mao extended his hand in front of Badgerclops, catching him slightly by surprise.

“For now,” Mao Mao looked away, “we need to ensure we stick together. Who knows what will happen if we get separated?”

Badgerclops hesitated for a second, before smiling and nodding.

Thus, hand in hand, Mao Mao and Badgerclops began their exploration of the sewer system in search of their kidnapper and Adorabat.

What they didn’t notice as they walked, though, was that their hands had subconsciously become interlocked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Thank you for all the kinds comments so far! They mean a lot to me.  
This was a lot to write, but I want to keep chapters lengthier so people can consume more at once.  
I also wanted to get this first real chapter out so you guys could have more to chew on than just a prologue.  
Updates will be more sporadic now that the ball is rolling, but I'll update as frequently as possible!  
I hope you all enjoyed. ^ ^


	3. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mao Mao and Badgerclops explore the sewers to get some answers.

Mao Mao shivered, pulling Badgerclops in closer as they continued through the sludge. The vapor that left their mouths as they exhaled floated upward, turning into condensation almost immediately as it touched the cold, mossy bricks.

“Ugh, this place is so gross,” Badgerclops said as they turned the corner, seeing rats scurry away as the light illuminated the area. 

“This wouldn’t be a bad place to put lawbreakers,” Mao Mao chuckled as he swatted more rats away.

“Dude, your moral compass is all wack today,” Badgerclops commented, giving a final wave of his flame before they moved forward. “First, you pry legally sensitive information out of your therapist, and now you’re considering punishment for the sweetypies that not even _ war criminals _ would experience in this day and age.”

“I did not pry anything out of Blue,” Mao Mao hissed. “I told him why we needed to know, and he gladly told us. We even sat down and had tea!” 

Badgerclops laughed as they turned another corner. “I still have a few scones stashed if you want one.”

“Odd, I didn’t think you’d be one to share food.”

“Huh,” Badgerclops paused for a second. “Yeah, you’re right.”

They continued to walk in silence, only their footsteps and the occasional _ squeak _ echoing through the sewer.

Mao Mao suddenly yelled in frustration, startling Badgerclops and the other few rats that watched curiously from a distance.

“Why haven’t we found anything yet?” Mao Mao threw his hands up, slashing the air with his sword in various directions.

“We’ve only been walking for, like, fifteen minutes,” Badgerclops said, looking forward and seeing the long tunnel that awaited them.

“Fifteen minutes too many,” Mao Mao scoffed as he waved his arm around mindlessly, trying to find Badgerclops’s hand again.

“If you’re tired, we can rest for a bit,” Badgerclops took his hand and led them forward again.

“Me, tired?” Mao Mao laughed twice. “A hero never gets tired,” Mao Mao exclaimed triumphantly. “Plus,” he cleared his throat, “this is fine as is.” Mao Mao subconsciously reaffirmed his statement by gripping Badgerclops’s hand more firmly.

So they continued walking forward in silence. Mao Mao wouldn’t admit it out loud, but as Badgerclops led them forward, he began to feel his blinks get longer. His eyes would remain closed for more time each time his eyelids drooped for a moment. He was slowing down, and he could feel Badgerclops’s tug increase as he walked slower.

Badgerclops looked behind him, and he could see the fatigue spelled out on the cat’s face. Badgerclops knew he could own up to becoming tired himself, but Mao Mao would probably pass out cold before admitting to being tired.

In a swift movement, Mao Mao felt Badgerclops’s hand slip away. In a tired stupor, he looked up, confused when he didn’t see his partner in sight. Suddenly, Mao Mao’s eyes shot open as he felt his paws rise from the ground, the wet floor seeming to get farther and farther away. A hand wrapped around his left leg, and he found himself riding atop of Badgerclops’s shoulders.

At first, Mao Mao considered yelling at him. He could _ obviously _still walk on his own, even if it was slow. But when he inhaled for his spiel, his voice died in his throat. He pondered this for a moment, before plopping his chin on Badgerclops’s head and huffing. He didn’t have the energy for a yell, he reasoned to himself. Mao Mao reassured his ego by telling himself this was a good opportunity to rest his limbs, even if he was slowly and casually massaging the nape of Badgerclops’s neck with one hand.

* * *

Badgerclops squinted as he looked forward. At the end of this tunnel, a door was waiting instead of another corner.

“Hey, dude, check this out,” Badgerclops said, softly nudging the cat awake with a claw.

“Mm, huh?” Mao Mao groggily managed to mutter as his eyes fluttered open.

“There’s a door in front of us. Looks like adventure-y stuff.”

Mao Mao lifted his head, his eyes taking a moment to focus on the door at the end of the underground passage. It looked as if it were made out of something metal, intricate designs carved into its front.

“Hey,” Mao Mao drawled as he felt his energy returning in a burst, “we finally found something!” he exclaimed excitedly.

“Correction: _ I _found something,” Badgerclops raised a claw in a hoity-toity manner. “Also, why is there an ominous door in the town’s sewer system?”

“I don’t care. Onward!” Mao Mao laughed as he pointed his sword forward.

When he noticed that Badgerclops wasn’t walking any faster, he kicked his paws backward into Badgerclops’s chest. “I said onward!”

“Man, I didn’t sign up for any running.”

In response, Mao Mao shoved the hilt of his sword into Badgerclops’s shoulder.

“Ow! Alright, jeez,” he whined as he began running towards the door.

As they approached, Mao Mao noticed that, unlike the rest of the sewer system, the door seemed relatively clean. Moss that grew around its frame abruptly cut off at its edges, suggesting recent, and possibly, frequent use.

Mao Mao jumped off the wheezing badger and looked up, realizing how tall the door was up close.

“Alright, let’s find our culprit,” Mao Mao grinned as he placed his hands on the door and began to push.

It refused to budge. The cat narrowed his eyes and pushed with more strength. Still, it refused to move. He put his back to the door and heaved with all his might, but it seemed intent on staying closed.

“Badgerclops, this door might be locked,” Mao Mao panted out. “Obviously, it’s immune to my superior strength, so we’ll need-”

“Or, _ or _, consider this,” Badgerclops smiled as he pulled on the hanging handle, opening the door with relative ease as it creaked loudly.

Mao Mao stood silent for a second, processing what had happened. A blush formed on his face, and he began to clear his throat. “I was just testing your wit,” he stammered out. “Need to make sure you’re vigilant at all times.”

“Haha, okay,” Badgerclops chuckled as they both moved through the door.

On the other side, a vast, circular room awaited them. Two staircases lined the walls, spiraling upward to other hallways. The bricks were still mossy and degraded, but the nature of the room was an extreme shift from the sewers they had just been walking through. This room was built for a purpose, a very specific purpose that was evident in its design of sharp and dangerous architecture.

The thing that stood out the most, though, was the tent sitting in the middle of the room, accompanied by a campfire that was still burning brightly.

Mao Mao readied his blade. Someone had been here just moments ago, and they were most likely still in the tent. Slowly, the duo approached the middle of the room, making sure that their footfalls remained as silent as possible.

Suddenly, they heard a rustling in the tent. Mao Mao’s senses heightened as he was hit with another burst of adrenaline. Badgerclops stood behind Mao Mao, readying a fist.

A small, purple figure came out of the tent, yawning as it rubbed its eyes. “You’re back already, Rufus?” Reggie smacked his lips.

Mao Mao dashed forward, knocking the purple raccoon back a few feet as they tumbled to the ground. “So it was you!” Mao Mao yelled, pointing his sword into Reggie’s neck.

“Oh, hey there, sheriff!” Reggie exclaimed as the cat growled viciously.

“I’m not here to play games. Where’s Adorabat?!” Mao Mao screamed as he pressed the sword against Reggie’s throat.

“Who?” He questioned, oblivious to the danger he was in.

“Reggie, are you alright?” a voice called as footsteps came from above. “Don’t tell me…,” the figure stopped at the top of the stairs, peering down into the commotion.

Mao Mao looked up to see Rufus holding a brown bag. Even in the poor lighting, he saw the fox instantly seize up. After realization hit him, Rufus dropped the bag haphazardly and began running down the hallway.

“I got it,” Badgerclops said as he transformed his arm into a thruster and gave chase.

Mao Mao turned his attention back to Reggie, who was already beginning to doze off.

“Where are you hiding her?” Mao Mao hissed.

“Who?” He questioned again.

Mao Mao’s eyebrow twitched. He was sleep-deprived, annoyed, and ready to see Adorabat again. This wasn’t helping any of those things. If he didn’t get answers soon, he was sure he would go feral. He pressed his knee into Reggie’s stomach, eliciting a toy-like squeak from the raccoon. “We’re staying here till my partner catches yours.”

“Oh, yeah!” Reggie exclaimed. “Rufus is, like, super smart,” he laughed. “He knows a lot more than me. If you need something, you should ask him.”

Which, as Mao Mao heard from the desperate pleading getting louder and closer, he would do soon enough.

Badgerclops jumped down from the hallway, causing the fox to yelp in the middle of his pleading.

“Please, I have no idea what’s going on!” he cried as Badgerclops held him by the shirt.

“Alright, Rufus, your time is up. Confess to your crimes and tell us where she is!” Mao Mao jumped up and directed his sword to Rufus. Even though Reggie was now freed, he remained sprawled out on the floor.

“W-Where who is?” he asked, scared of the blade inching closer to his chest.

“Adorabat!”

“Who?”

“Little Blue,” Badgerclops said, remembering the nickname they had given her.

“Oh, Little Blue?” A flash of recognition sparked in Rufus’s eyes. “Did something happen to that child?”

“Did something…,” Mao Mao’s face scrunched up. “Did something happen?!” Mao Mao exploded, causing Rufus, and Badgerclops to a certain extent, to recoil.

“Hey, Mao Mao…,” Badgerclops started, sensing something wrong in their interrogation.

“Badgerclops, if they won’t tell us anything, we’ll just have to force it out of them,” Mao Mao grinned sadistically.

“Please, I don’t know what happened to your Little Blue!” Rufus cried again, frightened by Mao Mao devolving into a maniacal mess of laughter.

“Dude, I think-” Badgerclops tried to continue, worried about his friend’s mental state.

“Come on!” he rioted, thrusting his sword into the air. “We can do all sorts of stuff in here. Anything that gets them to talk! The sooner we start, the sooner-”

Mao Mao felt himself get quickly engulfed by something large. His eyes widened in fear, and, acting on instinct, he dug his claws into whatever was holding him captive.

As soon as he heard Badgerclops grunt in pain, though, he immediately stopped pressing into his friend’s back. His eyes settled, and he realized that Badgerclops was holding him tightly, gently petting him on the head.

“It’s okay,” Badgerclops whispered into Mao Mao’s ears, trying to comfort the cat.

It wasn’t until then, when the only sounds in the room were Badgerclops’s whispering and the light crackle of the fire, that Mao Mao realized that static had been playing in his head the entire time they were in the room. It had drowned out everything, from his voice of reason to Rufus’s cries to Badgerclops’s worries.

And, in the process, he had ended up hurting his partner.

“Badgerclops…,” Mao Mao stammered out. “I-I’m so sorry. I…,” tears welled up in his eyes. He didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t justify what he had done.

“It’s okay, dude,” Badgerclops replied, wiping Mao Mao’s forming tears away. “You get cranky when you’re tired,” he lightly chuckled, trying to brighten the heavy mood that had fallen over the area.

“That doesn’t excuse-”

“And _ I _said,” Badgerclops pulled away, making sure to lift Mao Mao’s head so they could make eye contact, “that you’re fine,” he smiled. Badgerclops pointed to the fire, the flames still dancing around in ecstatic joy. “Why don’t you go sit next to the fire for now? It’s cold, and I can handle this.”

In any other case, Mao Mao would have refused. However, Mao Mao slowly dragged himself to the fire and sat down, pulling his cape over himself as he stared into the flames.

“Alright,” Badgerclops adjusted his sash and looked to where Rufus was sitting on the floor, having watched the entire scene unfold before him quietly. “So, you mean you don’t know anything about what happened to Adorabat?”

“No…,” Rufus stood up and dusted himself off, finally being able to regain some semblance of composure. “I have no knowledge of anything having to deal with Little Blue.”

“Alright, that’s fine,” Badgerclops sighed. “But, I do have to ask something.”

“Yes?” the fox spoke, finally standing up tall once more.

“What are you guys doing, er,” Badgerclops motioned to the tent and flame, “here?”

“Ah, that is, well,” Rufus gave a flustered smile, before clearing his throat. “When we last met, you do remember how Little Blue tossed us into the sewer tunnel in a furious rage, correct?”

“Yep.”

“Well, at the time, both Reggie and I were too afraid to show ourselves in the town again, especially against that sheriff or Little Blue.”

“Understandably so.”

“And so we went searching for another exit in the sewers. However, we ended up finding this place,” Rufus gestured to the entire room. “It was quite the sight: a whole dungeon underneath the town.”

“Yeah, I’m seriously going to have to ask the king about this entire place.” Badgerclops wondered what purpose this location served in the past, and he was afraid of finding out.

“So, Reggie and I have been camping out here while we’ve gathered ourselves to leave town,” Rufus adjusted his jacket cuffs. 

“Wait,” Badgerclops narrowed his eyes. “Have you guys been stealing from the sweetypies?”

“Heavens no!” Rufus exclaimed. “I wouldn’t dare steal from anyone in this town after our experiences here. Do you take me for an absurd man?”

“Kinda,” Badgerclops shrugged. After all, they were camping out in a creepy dungeon.

“If I procure anything from the sweetypies’ stands, I leave behind money, which has been obtained legally,” Rufus huffed. “The sweetypies will throw away perfectly good things, too.”

“You know, that’s actually really true,” Badgerclops nodded. They really needed to be taught how to be more frugal, he thought.

Badgerclops looked to where Mao Mao was sitting. The cat was slumped over, most likely overcome with exhaustion by this point. He was quite tired himself, too. They wouldn’t be able to continue searching in this state. Even if they didn’t have their next lead yet, they needed to take a moment to rest.

“So,” Badgerclops turned to face Rufus again, “we are going to sleep here.”

“Yes, yes. Be my guest,” Rufus smiled.

“You don’t have a say because we can arrest you for being squatters, but thank you,” Badgerclops smiled.

“Right,” the fox chuckled nervously. “We don’t have an extra tent, I’m afraid, but we do have an extra cover and pillow we can provide,” Rufus began walking back towards the tent, Badgerclops following behind. “I’m quite shocked you’d decide to sleep among us thieves,” Rufus spoke as he entered the tent and rummaged around. “Are you not afraid of the things we could do while you are both unconscious?”

Badgerclops hummed for a second. “Nah, not really,” he replied as he took the cover and pillow from Rufus’s paws. “I don’t think you guys would be stupid enough to try anything.”

“You’re right in that regard,” Rufus replied as he took a mental note that Badgerclops appeared just as dangerous as Mao Mao and Little Blue. “I’m sorry, but we only have two sets of covers and pillows,” Rufus emerged from the tent, rubbing his hands together.

“You’re fine, we can share,” Badgerclops reassured him. “I feel generous, so we’ll sleep next to the fire, and you and,” Badgerclops looked around for the raccoon, spotting him sleeping soundly where Mao Mao had left him, “Reggie can keep your tent.”

“Much appreciated. We’ll be turning in, then,” he bowed before walking over to Reggie, proceeding to drag his body across the bricks towards the tent. He gave a final wave before they both disappeared behind the flaps.

Badgerclops walked over to where Mao Mao had remained the entire time, never moving or getting up to join the discussion.

“Hey, we made good progress today,” Badgerclops sat down beside Mao Mao, noticing that he was still awake, even though the bags under his eyes screamed for sleep. “We’re gonna rest for a bit, and we can keep on looking tomorrow, okay?”

“You can use the cover and pillow,” Mao Mao mumbled. “I deserve to sleep on the cold ground.”

“Dude, no,” Badgerclops said bluntly. “If we’re gonna keep looking together, we need to _ both _ be rested.”

“I’ll be fine,” Mao Mao still hadn’t looked at Badgerclops, staring into the fire.

“Do you feel bad about what you did?” Badgerclops asked, placing the pillow behind them.

At first, Mao Mao refused to respond. They sat in silence for a bit, hearing the crackle of the fire begin to soften, the zenith of its dancing behind them.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Mao Mao finally moved, averting his gaze to the side. “I hurt you.”

“I get hurt, like, all the time, man,” Badgerclops grinned. “It wasn’t your fault. You were stressed and worried about Adorabat.”

“That’s no excuse. I deserve to sleep here,” Mao Mao said as he lay down on the ground, still refusing to look at his friend.

At that moment, Badgerclops felt the desire again: the need to comfort Mao Mao. Mao Mao was drowning in his thoughts, and Badgerclops needed to reel him in quickly before he became lost in his own mind.

“Do you wanna make it up to me?” Badgerclops asked.

Mao Mao stayed silent for a second, before finally turning to face his friend. It was apparent that Mao Mao had been silently crying by the puffiness of his eyes. “Yes,” he responded plainly.

“Good,” Badgerclops yawned and lay down behind Mao Mao, placing the pillow underneath his own head. “It’s going to get cold once the fire dies out, so.”

“I can stay up and keep the flame going,” Mao Mao replied as he began to sit up.

“Nope,” Badgerclops quickly pulled Mao Mao into his chest, keeping him trapped against his torso. “You can keep me warm enough. I don’t need the fire.”

Mao Mao said nothing in response, staring at the flames as they slowly left one by one. The static that had invaded his thoughts slowly faded. More and more, he began to see actual objects in front of him rather than fuzzy shapes. He could see the individual flickers of flames as they leaped into the air, dissipating into nothing. Mao Mao felt Badgerclops lay an arm over him, as well as under him. He completed the movement by bringing his arms together, completely enveloping Mao Mao. This wasn’t too bad, he thought to himself as he closed his eyes and finally began to let his guard down.

Which quickly went back up as Mao Mao felt the world shift. Opening his eyes to see what had happened, Mao Mao found himself lying on top of Badgerclops instead of his side. Badgerclops had brought him into a secure embrace so that he could rotate and place Mao Mao on his belly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his friend pick up the blanket and pull it over them. In this position, Mao Mao could easily hear the beating of Badgerclops’s heart, just as he had done the night before. With that, the static finally died, and Mao Mao’s body finally relaxed.

Yes, Mao Mao thought to himself, this wasn’t too bad.

* * *

Badgerclops lifted the brown bag that Rufus had dropped, eyeing it intensely. Morning had risen over the kingdom, and the fox left to go gather a few things for breakfast. In the center of the room, Reggie and Mao Mao talked to each other about their travels; Mao Mao discussed how he saved his cohero from eternal damnation by influencing his morals, and Reggie babbled on about the many times they had been on the lam.

Badgerclops inspected the inside of the bag again. It was mostly small foodstuffs, just as Rufus had said he would go for daily. He grabbed another stale bagel, popping it into his mouth and diminishing the stock even more. 

Badgerclops look to his other hand and grimaced, unfurling the _new letter _that was in the bag when he first found it. At first, he considered the possibility that Rufus actually had kidnapped Adorabat and was planning on sending them through a wild goose chase, but he quickly dismissed it as he read the contents of the letter, which contained details from last night that only someone actively _observing _the scene could have written. It must have been placed there after everyone had gone to sleep. At the bottom, scrawled out in that signature black-ink chicken scratch, Badgerclops read another clue.

_ Search high, then continue lower and lower. _

_ Lower till your soul reaches the Trading Circle of Demons. _

_ And if you lack direction, _

_ Ask those whose souls have already been tainted. _

Badgerclops stashed the note again within his sash. Prior experience told him that, as badly as he wanted to burn the letter, he should keep it for any hidden clues, like the faint sewer smell.

Badgerclops grabbed the bag and began walking down the stairs to where Mao Mao and Reggie ate breakfast, Rufus having joined and provided them with various fruits and nuts from his forage. He pondered on whether or not he should show Mao Mao the note. The cohero side of him told him that, as a teammate, Mao Mao had the right to see the note, but the caring side of him told him that Mao Mao might react violently to the teasing in the letter. There was no guarantee that he would be fine with the very existence of the letter, given how he reacted to the first.

When he reached the bottom of the staircase, he huffed and nodded, having come to a solution.

“Welcome back, Badgerclops,” Rufus said as he extended a small sack of fruits to the badger. “Eat as much as you’d like; I believe I’ve gathered a sufficient amount for everyone.”

“Don’t tell him to eat as much as he’d like. He’ll eat everything in sight,” Mao Mao laughed as he put a few more nuts into his mouth.

“True, but I didn’t come here to get attacked,” Badgerclops replied, emptying the entire sack into his mouth in one swift motion. “Hey, Rufus, I have a question for you.”

“Ask away.” Rufus plopped another few berries into his mouth.

“Ignore me if you have absolutely no clue what I’m talking about,” Badgerclops laughed, rubbing the back of his head, “ but do you happen to know _ anything _about, um, the Trading Circle of Demons?”

Rufus instantly spat out his breakfast upon hearing the name, berry pulp flying everywhere, a large majority of it finding its way onto Reggie’s unsuspecting face. 

“W-Why are you asking about that place?” Rufus handed Reggie a cloth to clean his face.

“So you do know about this place?”

“Yeah, we do!” Reggie said muffled through the cloth as he ran it over his face. “It’s, like, _ the _underground marketplace,” he laughed. “You can’t get any better than the City of Commerce!”

“Wait, this is the City of Commerce? When did it get such an ominous name?” Badgerclops questioned incredulously.

Rufus thought for a second. “You were a thief before, yes? Maybe you’ve heard of El Dorado?”

“Oh!” Badgerclops exclaimed in realization. “Every thief has heard of the infamous El Dorado.”

“They’re the exact same place, but they have different names depending on who you ask,” Reggie chimed in through mouthfuls of berries.

“Hey!” Mao Mao exclaimed, halting the conversation and landing all eyes on him. “What’s happening? What are all these names? Why am I out of the loop?” he pouted.

“Well, sheriff,” Rufus drank a bit of water before resuming, “since you’ve been clean all your life, I assume, you wouldn’t be familiar with the City of Commerce.”

Badgerclops continued off of that. “Basically, it’s this _ huge _city where people do all sorts of business. However, it has an incredible underground network where basically anything can be traded.”

“Indeed!” Rufus exclaimed. “Anything can be traded and bought in the underground market.”

“It’s amazing! Me and Rufus have been there a lot. Last time, I bought trampoline shoes that had been banned in most countries for safety violations!” Reggie smiled as he rummaged around his sack for more nuts.

“This place doesn’t sound too bad,” Mao Mao pictured himself wearing those trampoline shoes, “except for the illegal part, that is,” he quickly corrected. “But, why are we discussing this place?” Mao Mao gasped and leaned forward towards Badgerclops. “Are your moral standards degrading again?”

“No, it’s not that,” Badgerclops exhaled and paused for a moment, before pulling the letter out of his sash. “I found a new letter this morning.”

“What?!” Mao Mao instantly rushed onto Badgerclops, knocking him over as he got into his face. “What does it say?!”

“Dude, chill for a second, I’m gonna read it out loud,” Badgerclops lifted Mao Mao and placed him down beside him, his gaze directed towards at the badger as he waited for the words.

“What letter are we discussing here?” Rufus asked.

“It’s a letter left by the person who kidnapped Adorabat.”

Rufus’s eyes widened, connecting the pieces laid before him. “Don’t tell me they…”

Badgerclops relayed the clue in the message, leaving out the other parts that served to simply tease the duo.

As Mao Mao listened, a seed of fear began germinating in the pit of his stomach. “Rufus, when you said that you could trade and find _ anything _ in this market, did you mean that literally?”

Rufus remained silent.

Badgerclops gripped Mao Mao’s arm. “We have to go now,” he said. “We can’t waste any more time here.”

Badgerclops could see it in how Mao Mao was shivering; he was fighting the urge to panic. His teeth were gritted, and his eyes were shaking intensely. Badgerclops reaffirmed his grip.

“Y-You’re right,” Mao Mao finally managed to get out after a minute. “We need to leave now. We don’t know what’s happening to Adorabat while she’s over there.”

Badgerclops smiled and held back a tear. He was able to overcome the feeling this time.

“But,” Mao Mao clenched his fists together, “what are we supposed to do about the Pure Heart Valley?” Mao Mao looked to Badgerclops pleadingly. “What are we supposed to tell the king?

“What _ are _we supposed to tell the king?” A new voice called out from the middle of the circle.

Everyone yelled and jumped back in shock as the figure twirled and made its presence known.

“Y-Your Majesty!” Mao Mao shouted in confusion as King Snugglemagne winked. “What are you doing down here?!”

“I sensed tension and came as fast as I could,” he laughed as he sat down on a stool Quinton had quickly prepared.

“In any case,” Mao Mao coughed, initiating his sheriff duties, “do you want me to arrest these two criminals?”

“I thought we were working together!” Rufus exclaimed.

“Why would you arrest this fine sir? Has he done something wrong?” King Snugglemagne looked over Rufus. “The other one,” the king wore a face of disgust as Reggie stared at him cross-eyed, “I care not what you do to him.”

“Has he done something wrong?!” Mao Mao repeated in disbelief. “He’s squatting! He’s using this place as a camp!”

“Is that illegal? I’ve seen him around before. He’s always been such a gentleman, why, look at him,” King Snugglemagne gestured to the fox, who flashed a smile and adjusted his jacket. “He’s _ absolutely _ suave. I could never charge such a grand man with a petty crime.”

Rufus shrugged and said, “My charm works in wondrous ways.”

“Really, my dear sheriff, wanting to displace the homeless. Shame on you!” The king pointed a royal spear at the cat. “You must get over your hatred of the peasantry. Show some compassion.”

“Back to the topic at hand,” Badgerclops interrupted, seeing as his partner was about to burst a blood vessel, “we know where Adorabat has gone.”

“Where’s that?”

“She’s somewhere in the City of Commerce.”

King Snugglemagne jumped up excitedly. “The City of Commerce? Fabulous!” He jumped onto a pedestal that Quinton had, once again, pulled out of some pocket dimension.

“Wait,” Mao Mao shook his head, “you know of this city?”

“What kind of ruffian wouldn’t know about the _ biggest _ city of wealth?” King Snugglemagne chuckled. Mao Mao wore a deadpan face in response. “In fact,” King Snugglemagne patted Quinton’s head, “I’ve just run out of my exotic fruit stockpile, so Quinton was going to travel to the city to fetch some more.”

“Oh, that’s great!” Badgerclops smiled. “We can hitch a ride, then.”

“Can’t we just use the aerocycle?” Mao Mao tilted his head to the side, before widening his eyes and shaking his head. “Wait, what about the protection of the valley?”

“Oh, that is a dilemma,” the king mused in his musing seat. “Oh! Idea~,” he sang as he grabbed his microphone scepter and stood upon his stool. “Sheriff and company, you can fetch my exotic fruits in my yacht while Quinton stays behind and protects the kingdom! Simply marvelous!” he giggled, spinning around.

“Quinton?!” Both Mao Mao and Badgerclops shouted at the same time.

“Yeah, not sure how I feel about that,” Badgerclops looked at the small bird. “No offense,” he put his hands up as Quinton simply nodded.

“If I command it, Quinton can take care of small threats that may attack the valley,” the king jumped down and placed Quinton upon the stool. “He is the best servant a king could ask for, really.”

Mao Mao looked into the bird’s eyes. In there, a silent beast stood passively, waiting to be unleashed upon the world. Mao Mao hated to admit it, but it _ frightened _him.

“Okay,” Mao Mao sighed and looked towards Badgerclops, “we’ll only be a few days. We can gather your fruits and return with Adorabat at the same time.”

“Such zest! I’ll have Quinton prepare a map right away,” King Snugglemagne motioned for the bird to prepare a map. As quickly as he had gestured, Quinton pulled out a map that perfectly detailed the route that the duo would have to take. “He works so fast, really, the best servant in the land.” King Snugglemagne walked towards Badgerclops and Mao Mao, presenting the map to them. “You’ll have to cross the Balagoute Sea, but that shouldn’t take you more than a day on my yacht. Why, if you leave soon, you can get there by tomorrow morning. Oh, and,” he flipped the map over, “all my desired fruits are on the other side.”

Badgerclops took the map and gave a thumbs up. “Alrighty, we’ll go do your grocery shopping.”

“Erm, excuse us,” Rufus interrupted, walking towards the group tentatively. “Would we, perhaps, be able to hitch a ride on this yacht?”

“What?” Mao Mao narrowed his eyes. “Why do you want a ride to the city?”

“Well,” Rufus looked back to Reggie, motioning for him to come closer, “we’ve been stuck in this town for quite some time. I believe this would be a good opportunity for us to start over and get away.”

“Yeah!” Reggie chimed in. “Evading the law once again!” he clapped.

Mao Mao arched an eyebrow, looking to Badgerclops for an answer. He simply shrugged. Sighing, Mao Mao replied, “Okay, I guess you guys can accompany us.”

“Splendid!” the fox snapped. “I’ll gather my belongings, then.”

As Reggie and Rufus began collecting their things, Badgerclops pulled the king aside. “Dude,” he began, “why do you have a dungeon under your town?”

“Hm?” The king hummed. “Do you mean this old, grime riddled place?”

“Yes. That’s exactly what I mean.”

“Oh ho!” King Snugglemagne chuckled. “It’s where I used to store any opposition that arose against me, nothing more,” the king waved his scepter around. “It’s from a time much removed, so I remodeled it to host many of my hidden transportation passages.”

Badgerclops simply stared in disbelief. “Dude, that’s metal,” he managed to stammer out.

* * *

Mao Mao hopped onto the deck, stomping the wooden boards to get a feel for the yacht. “This is a good ship. I can’t believe you own it all to yourself,” Mao Mao walked to the edge, looking down to the dock where Quinton and King Snugglemagne waited.

“I’m surprised that you’d think I _ wouldn’t _own an entire ship to myself,” the king laughed.

“Badgerclops, how are preparations?” Mao Mao called into the cabin.

“I think we’re ready to set sail,” Badgerclops walked out of the room stretching.

“This is a really luxurious ship,” Rufus said as he appeared from one of the guest rooms. “Are you sure this ship was bought solely for you?”

“Well, I also bought it for whenever I find a significant other,” the king sighed as Quinton prepared tissues.

“That’s what I thought,” the fox chuckled as Reggie emerged with various roses, showering the king in the petals and causing him to giggle.

“Quinton, put the pity tissues away and fetch me my farewell handkerchief!” King Snugglemagne commanded.

“Well, if that’s all, I’ll start the engine up,” Badgerclops said as he walked back into the captain’s cabin.

“Goodbye, my grace!” Mao Mao shouted as the yacht roared to life. “We’ll be back soon!”

“Do take care sheriff!” King Snugglemagne cried as he waved his farewell handkerchief. “Don’t forget the Zealish grapes! I was one short in this last batch!”

“Odd,” Mao Mao tilted his head as Badgerclops whistled in the background.

“Well, men, we are finally making our trek across the Balagoute Sea!” Rufus adjusted his scarf and walked to the bow of the ship, Reggie following behind.

Mao Mao watched as the mainland started diminishing, getting farther and farther away. He felt a presence behind him and looked up to a smiling Badgerclops. Together, they watched as the land finally drifted out of sight. Nodding to each other, they began walking to join Rufus and Reggie at the bow of the ship. As they walked closely, they both secretly yearned for an excuse to hold hands once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! That was a lot to write again!  
From this point on, I will be using scenes and characters that are of my own creation, so get ready for some canon divergence.  
In any case, thank you all for the kind comments again! They do wonders to keep me motivated.  
I hope you've all enjoyed this chapter. ^ ^


	4. Balagoute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mao Mao and company take a leisure boat ride across the sea.

Mao Mao leaped through the air, feeling himself glide on the sea breeze. As he landed, he laughed and did a twirl, grabbing onto the rail to look at the various fish that swam with the ship.

“Someone’s hyper,” Badgerclops said as he reclined in a chair.

“Come on, Badgerclops,” Mao Mao groaned and rested his elbows on the rail. “It’s not like we get to explore the sea on a private yacht in our spare time. You can’t criticize me, either.” The cat walked over to the badger. “You’re just doing the same thing you do every day,” Mao Mao poked at Badgerclops’s stomach.

“Except it’s outside,” he smiled.

“Whatever,” Mao Mao huffed, looking out to the horizon of blue that gleamed in the sunlight. They had been traveling for about two hours now, the ship sailing with no problem. While exploring the captain’s cabin, Badgerclops found that, to no surprise, the yacht came equipped with an autopilot function. After he turned it on, he retreated onto the lounge chair, not having moved since.

“Have you all had the chance to explore the rest of this vessel’s facilities?” Rufus descended from a staircase, walking towards the duo. “It’s amazing how much your king has dedicated to this ship.”

“I’ve been trying to, but Badgerclops refuses to move from his chair.” Mao Mao poked at Badgerclops’s stomach again, eliciting a chuckle this time.

“I’m just trying to get some Vitamin D, dude,” Badgerclops sighed contently, rolling onto his back. “Find something better than that, and I’ll consider getting up.”

“Well,” Rufus plucked a grape from a vine that he held behind his back, “they have a lounge that has a variety of foods.”

“I’m convinced,” Badgerclops leaped out of his chair, knocking it over. “I’ve been hungry ever since we left the dungeon.”

“But we had breakfast,” Rufus turned his head as the badger made his way up the stairs.

“I’m bulking,” Badgerclops replied without skipping a beat.

Rufus looked to Mao Mao with a confused look. Mao Mao rolled his eyes. “Yes, the ‘infinite bulking phase,’” he scoffed. “Where Badgerclops eats everything in sight and says he needs it for exercise without ever exercising.”

The trio walked up to the second floor, where a small bar awaited them. On top of it, Reggie sat eating from a bowl of different fruits. He looked up and waved with a toothy grin as he saw Mao Mao, Badgerclops, and Rufus appear.

“Move,” Badgerclops shoved Reggie to the floor and began eating the fruit at an alarming speed.

“Badgerclops, your complete disregard for any equity or kindness when it comes to food is worrisome sometimes,” Mao Mao said as he helped Reggie onto a stool and took a seat next to his gluttonous friend.

“Jeez, it’s no big deal,” Reggie laughed. “I mean, when Rufus gets hungry, he starts-”

A hand suddenly covered the raccoon’s mouth. “I also become inconsiderate and push people aside for my selfish desires,” Rufus chuckled nervously. “That’s what my friend was going to say in comparison to Badgerclops. We have much alike.”

“Hey, Mao Mao didn’t _ specifically _say I was inconsiderate,” Badgerclops spoke through a mouthful of apple slices.

“But you don’t deny pushing people aside for selfish desires,” Mao Mao pointed out.

Badgerclops only responded by shoving another fist full of fruit into his mouth.

“In any case, sheriff,” Rufus moved behind the bar and began pouring glasses of eau, “what is the plan once you arrive in the city?”

“We save Adorabat while doing the king’s shopping, what else do we need?”

“That is, erm,” Rufus slowly slid the glass towards Mao Mao, “rather _ simple _ for a plan, no?”

“It’s a simple job.”

“If Mao Mao gets a plan that’s more than, like, two steps,” Badgerclops took the glass that Rufus had slid to the cat for himself, downing it in one gulp, “he won’t follow it.” Badgerclops waved his hand. “I have a concrete plan that has more steps, don’t worry.”

“What do you mean that wasn’t the whole plan?” Mao Mao asked. Badgerclops simply patted him on the head.

“You guys should check out the top deck. Oh, or the bottom deck too!” Reggie said as he sucked the juice out of an orange slice. “There’s an outdoor pool up top.”

“I don’t think it’s a legal use of taxpayer money, but it serves us well,” Rufus raised a glass and smiled.

Badgerclops put a claw to his chin, deep in thought. “Are we supposed to pay taxes?” 

“Yes, but I file yours because you never remember to do them,” Mao Mao replied, sipping from his glass as the badger continued pondering. There was a long pause while the quartet sat and stood at the bar, continuing to snack and drink as the ambient sounds of the waves passed through the area.

“I’ve literally never heard you mention taxes to me.”

“Well,” Rufus stepped out from behind the bar and motioned for Reggie to follow, “we’ll be on our way. It’s not everyday characters like us get a moment to sit back and relax.”

“You guys have fun!” Reggie waved as they both walked to the staircase.

Mao Mao watched as they descended, blanking out for as second until he felt Badgerclops’s hand fall on his back.

“So, we’ve got a lot of time to kill, dude,” he got up and walked in front of his partner, stretching upwards in the process. “What do you wanna do?”

Mao Mao furrowed his brows and hummed. He hadn’t thought they would encounter any down time in their search for Adorabat. In reality, it stumped him. What _ was _ he supposed to do with this time? Was there any planning to be had? He already had two whole steps; it was already foolproof, a quintessential plan that ensured success.

“I’m...,” Mao Mao looked up to Badgerclops, “not that sure, Badgerclops. Do you think there’s anything we should be looking out for?”

Badgerclops took a hold of Mao Mao’s hand and pulled him off the stool, startling him slightly.

“I wasn’t asking about work, silly,” he laughed. “I meant like relaxing and doing stuff _ other _than stressing.”

“I feel like we should still be working in some capacity,” Mao Mao replied as Badgerclops led them both to the staircase leading upward.

“We literally cannot do anything productive right now, especially when you can only memorize one two-step plan at a time.”

“That’s all I ever need,” Mao Mao grumbled under his breath as they walked up the stairs.

Badgerclops and Mao Mao reached the top. The cat lifted a hand to shield from the light that was coming down in full force. Squinting, Mao Mao saw the pool that Reggie had mentioned. It was on the smaller side, but the large umbrellas that lined the edges of the pool made for great shade from the unrelenting sun.

Mao Mao felt Badgerclops’s hand slip from his own. Looking to his side, he watched as the badger quickly threw his brown sash to the ground and ran towards the pool, jumping upward and landing in the middle with a large splash. As he emerged from underwater, he looked to Mao Mao and grinned. “The water feels great. You have to come in.”

Mao Mao approached the side and placed a hand on his hip. “Won’t your arm mess up from the water?”

Badgerclops shook his head. “After all the times it’s malfunctioned on me for that, I decided to make it waterproof.”

“Why don’t you come up with these ideas sooner?” Mao Mao asked as he took off his cape. His partner just shrugged in response as he began wading in the pool. As much as he prided himself on precision, foresight, and calculation, Badgerclops tended to only think ahead for stuff whenever he felt like it.

Mao Mao sat down, not quite ready to enter yet but comfortable enough to set his paws in the water. It was rather warm, just as Badgerclops had said. He moved his feet around, watching as the waves collided with each other as they traveled outwards from their source. He looked up to see Badgerclops resuming his activity of acquiring Vitamin D, the badger floating on the surface of the water, letting out a sigh as he scratched his stomach.

A feeling grew inside Mao Mao as he continued watching the scene. His eyes softened, and a small smile made its way onto his face. The air around them was peaceful, filled with a quaint pleasure. Was this domesticity? Mao Mao questioned to himself as he continued mindlessly swaying his legs back and forth. And if domesticity it was, why’d he feel so content with it? Mao Mao idly rubbed his hands together as the feeling grew cold. He had destined himself for legendary greatness, the likes of which required constant action and attention, so why did he feel at peace with the scene before him? Why did he feel at peace with resignation to something so calm?

Suddenly, Mao Mao put his hands up defensively as water rained upon him. Lifting his arm, now soaked and dripping, Mao Mao saw Badgerclops smirk smugly as his head bobbed up and down in the water. The cat chuckled in spiteful anticipation, then yelled as he leaped from his spot, landing next to the badger and creating an annoyingly large splash that fell upon his friend. In the water war that followed, Mao Mao forgot about his insecurity. Maybe this was a chance to take a break, and maybe domesticity didn’t have to be a complete resignation of his hero identity.

* * *

“Quinton!”

The small bird appeared next to the king who was sprawled out on the throne chair, holding a mirror up to check his appearance. 

“How’s the town fairing?” King Snugglemagne moved the hand mirror left and right, examining his hair from all angles.

Quinton nodded once. As expected, nothing had happened yet.

“Fabulous,” the king clapped and threw the mirror to his side, which Quinton quickly moved to catch. “With that, then,” King Snugglemagne sat up and raised a hand, “can you fetch me some water? I’m rather parched.” Quinton nodded in response and began walking to the kitchen. “Oh!” The king leaned over the arm of his chair and yelled, “Do make sure you use my personal grail, please! I can’t stand the taste of water if it’s not in an aurum dish.”

King Snugglemagne sat back down properly and stared at the front entrance. After a short pause, he sighed and closed his eyes. Without any threat of monsters or the sheriff around, his day had been rather boring. He was ready and excited to command Quinton to save the valley, to dispose of a barbaric beast as blazes burned boundlessly, destroying the kingdom as he tried to salvage whatever peasantry he could. He would most likely salvage whatever of his wealth he could first, but maybe a sweetypie or two could suffice for a courage award.

He had been daydreaming about it all morning: all four hours since the sheriff had departed. Maybe he could command Quinton to become the monster, pillage a shop or two and commit a few cases of arson. Then, he’d have him fix the mess he made as if he were defeating the monster. The king smiled, yes, that sounded like it’d make a great Sunday afternoon.

The door burst open to the throne room. The king jumped in surprise. The only person that would regularly make such a brutish entrance is the sheriff. Yet, the large figure that stood in the doorway did not resemble anyone he recognized immediately.

“We’re back!” the villain rattled as it brought its large arms up triumphantly.

“Quinton!” the king shrieked. The bird appeared, holding a chalice that had the king’s face engraved into it. “Oh, good, you have my drink,” the king clapped as Quinton handed him his water. “Also,” the king pointed in the direction of the door, “please dispose of this beast before us!”

“Wait,” the figure dropped its hands as it looked at Quinton approaching, “he’s doing what now?”

Quinton stopped a few paces from the door. The figure watched as he slowly drew something from behind his back. It was small and circular, with a short rope hanging from one end. Even with how compact it was, it frightened the villain to a certain extent. Both the king and villain watched as Quinton took a hold of the string and slowly pulled. The anticipation was deadly, and the air grew tense.

With a loud pop, the top came off of the toy, sending confetti everywhere. King Snugglemagne clapped while Quinton bowed and procured a dustpan to begin sweeping the floor, leaving the figure at the entrance stumped.

“What was that?” Orangusnake yelled, baffled as Quinton kept sweeping.

“That was my fill of excitement for the day,” the king laughed as he relaxed back into the throne.

“I dunno, boss,” Ramaraffe appeared from behind, extending her neck forward as she looked at the confetti pieces still littering the floor, “I kinda liked it.”

“Reminds me of ma’ juvenile days, it does,” Boss Hosstrich chimed in, tipping his hat to Quinton.

“Like a pizza pie. Oh!” Ratarang exclaimed as he climbed onto Orangusnake’s shoulder, throwing his hands up.

“Aren’t you going to call Mao Mao?” Orangusnake questioned.

“Sadly, he’s not in right now,” King Snugglemagne rolled his eyes, sipping from his goblet. “He had an errand to run, or something. I don’t remember the small, trivial matters he deals with.”

“What?!” the snake exclaimed. “He just left the kingdom unprotected?”

“Oh, heavens no!” the king laughed. “He agreed to let Quinton protect the valley while he was gone.”

“Ya’ mean we can jus’ take the Ruby Pure Heart right now?” Boss Hosstrich asked.

“I suppose, if you wanted to. Quinton still has to clean the other party poppers I set off this morning,” he waved as the bird proceeded to exit the throne room. “Afterwards, I can let him play with you all.”

“I’m…,” Orangusnake brought his fingers together and pouted, “a little offended, if I have to be honest.” The snake’s face had fallen.

“Aw, don’t worry boss!” Ramaraffe put a hoof on Orangusnake's back. “I’m sure Mao Mao wasn’t thinking about you when he chose someone to take care of the town.”

“Yeah!” Ratarang jumped up. “He’z told us he was afraid, remember?”

“Even still,” Orangusnake sighed, “I was kinda looking forward to fighting after two weeks. That’s why I bought the express tickets home.”

“Oh, did you all have an excursion?” the king piped up, his curiosity peaked.

“We went to the Bad Guys and Co.™ festival,” Orangusnake walked closer to the throne, company following pursuit. “It’s an annual gathering of monsters and villains alike.”

“All of my role models were there,” Ramaraffe said. “Why, I’ve got so many autographs I dunno what I’mma do with all of them!”

“How exciting!” King Snugglemagne clapped.

“Do you remember where Mao Mao is headed?” Orangusnake inquired.

The king put a finger to his chin. “He was heading to the City of Commerce to buy me some fruits, as well as to do some other, less important errand.”

“The City of Commerce?! Like, _ the _El Dorado?!” Orangusnake replied, a worried expression appearing on his face.

“Why, is something wrong?” the king tilted his head.

“Ain’t most peoples from the convention goin’ to El Dorado to stock up right now?” Boss Hosstrich commented as he remembered how many people on the guest list had written the city as their next destination.

“What if someone else defeats Mao Mao before I get a chance to?” Orangusnake wailed in fear. “He’ll probably run into an enemy before he even _ gets _ to the city!”

“Oh! Tha’z no good,” Ratarang exclaimed.

“Mao Mao can take a few enemies, but he’ll be chop suey before he can ever make it back!” 

“Boss, you gotta go save him so you can defeat him before anyone else can!” Ramaraffe shouted as Orangusnake paced back and forth.

“But if I go chase down Mao Mao,” Orangusnake placed his hands on his head, “what if someone else comes and takes the Ruby Pure Heart?”

“Oh, oh! Pick me,” King Snugglemagne bounced up and down as he sat in his chair. “If you leave your companions to protect the valley, then under the direction of Quinton and _ moi _, we’ll have an unstoppable sheriff department.”

Orangusnake stopped pacing and looked to the lion. He was _ absolutely _insane to think that their ragtag team would be capable of stopping any force more powerful than a hungry bunny. Yet, he knew that he may not get another chance to fight Mao Mao if the sheriff failed to return from the dangerous trek.

After a moment, he breathed in. “Okay, I trust you guys to make sure the Ruby Pure Heart isn’t stolen by anyone that isn’t us,” Orangusnake finally caved in as he addressed his friends.

“Boss…” all three chimed in, warmed by their leader’s kind words.

“You must be on your way soon,” King Snugglemagne clapped twice. “The sheriff and some others have already been on their voyage for some time now, who knows of their status?” The king gasped and yelled, “Hurry, I have to know how my vessel is fairing!”

Orangusnake nodded. Putting his hands on the floor, he pushed off and began galloping out of the throne room, leaving his comrades behind as they waved. He wondered how he’d get to Mao Mao. From what he extrapolated from the conversation with the king, Mao Mao was on a ship and not his Aerocycle, most likely because of the errand the king had sent him to do. An idea popped up in his head, which he pondered for a second. Making a sharp turn, he hoped that the sheriff would appreciate his appearance and not decimate him on sight.

* * *

Mao Mao huffed as the brush ran down his back. “Thank you for helping me with this, Badgerclops. I hate how my fur looks after drying off.”

“I think the floof is cute, but no problem,” Badgerclops chuckled as he ran the brush down the cat's back again.

“Call it floof or cute again and I’ll be throwing you overboard,” he snarled.

The duo sat on a bed in one of the guest rooms. After they had swam in the pool, they dried off and Badgerclops proceeded to make lunch for the crew. However, Mao Mao wouldn’t stop complaining while he ate about how his fur looked, so Badgerclops volunteered to help him, largely to get him to stop whining about something so trivial.

Mao Mao closed his eyes as Badgerclops continued to groom him. A small part of him wanted to take a nap. It wasn’t like he had done anything, but the warmth of the water had relaxed his muscles, which had grown tense from all the stress of the past few days. He seriously considered leaning backward, melting into the warmth of his friend as he began to doze off.

Mao Mao opened his eyes and felt his cheek. Were they flushed? he asked himself as he slowly pulled his hand away. They were definitely hot, but the feeling confused Mao Mao. Wasn’t this quaint domesticity? He didn’t feel like Badgerclops brushing his fur was anything out of the ordinary, so what caused his cheeks to turn red? Mao Mao considered the feeling again. Maybe it was embarrassment? Really, he absolutely _ detested _the way his fur puffed, and it was something to be shameful about.

Yet, when he felt Badgerclops run the brush down his back once more, the feeling intensified, and it wasn’t one of shame or embarrassment, but of warmth. It was a happy feeling that made him wish they could stay frozen in that moment. It frightened him slightly because he couldn’t ascribe a name to it, but, at the same time, it was a feeling that Mao Mao was willing to let in, whatever it was.

A soft patter caused Mao Mao to open his eyes. Out of the small window in front of them, he could see a few drops of rain beginning to come down from the sky.

“Wow, is it seriously going to rain?” Badgerclops scoffed. “The weather was perfect, come on,” he pleaded to no one in particular.

“Well, I find the sounds comforting,” Mao Mao smiled. “It’s been a little while since I’ve had the chance to relax to the sound of the rain.”

A large crash jolted the ship, sending Badgerclops and Mao Mao to their sides. The cat looked up through the window. What had just been the gentle fall of rain was now a complete torrent of downpour.

“Dude, what’s happening?!” Badgerclops yelled as they ran out of the cabin, seeing how the sky had greyed, the sea growing violent as rain fell violently.

“Sheriff!” Rufus appeared from the staircase, visibly frightened. “I think there is a monster out to compromise this vessel!” he shrieked. 

Reggie tumbled down the stairs, having slipped on the wet steps. “I think we might be in some danger,” the raccoon commented.

Suddenly, the yacht was jolted again. The quartet tried to keep their balance as the ship rocked back and forth, all but Mao Mao failing to do so. From one of the sides, everyone watched in horror as a large tentacle grasped the railing of the ship.

“Are we really going to have to deal with an octopus?” Badgerclops shouted.

Mao Mao saw the tentacles begin to strengthen its grip on the railing, watching in disbelief as the metal began to bend to its will. In response, Mao Mao unsheathed his sword and quickly charged forward. “Badgerclops, help me! We can’t afford to lose this ship!”

“R-Right!” Badgerclops readied a laser and began running to help. “Rufus, Reggie,” he commanded as Mao Mao managed to ward the tentacle off, only for another to attach at the other end of the ship, “you both need to go ensure that there hasn’t been any damage to the bottom of the yacht. Now!”

“O-Of course,” Rufus stammered out as he stood up and grabbed Reggie by the hand, quickly descending into the lower levels of the ship.

Mao Mao continued to slash at the tentacles that kept appearing on the edges of the ship. Badgerclops helped by taking care of any stray ones that tried to hold on while Mao Mao moved on.

“There are too many!” Mao Mao shouted, watching as they began to emerge in pairs instead of solo.

Badgerclops fired another laser as he heaved and panted. “Okay, I’m going to do something crazy, so just hold down the fort. I’ll be back.” 

Mao Mao watched out of the corner of his eye as Badgerclops ran to the side of the ship, proceeding to jump into the raging waves below. “Badgerclops!” he yelled, before being attacked by a tentacle. He tightened his grip on his sword and retaliated. He was scared for Badgerclops, but he had to trust that his friend knew what he was doing.

Badgerclops instantly regretted his decision as his body hit the water, the chill of the sea invading his body and freezing him to the core. He transformed his arm into a booster and began moving towards the bottom of the yacht. As he reached the belly of the ship, he saw the perpetrator attached to the hull: a large octopus that was wrapping its tentacles all around the vessel. The metal was already bending on many of the sides, the octopus trying to strengthen its hold to crush the ship entirely.

Badgerclops began shooting at the octopus, causing it to recoil and lose its grip on the ship. Great, the badger thought triumphantly until the octopus redirected its tentacles to attacking him. Swimming left and right, Badgerclops tried desperately to avoid the strikes the enemy was making. Unfortunately, Badgerclops felt large suction cups attach to his back, pulling him into the hull with a hard thud as the octopus held him against the metal. With the force that the octopus had dragged him back, Badgerclops had accidentally let all his air escape. As the octopus pressed his body against the metal harder, Badgerclops had no choice but to continue swallowing water. His vision was turning blurry, his visage a shade of blue as he continued to asphyxiate. He wondered what Mao Mao would do as he felt his consciousness begin to slip. He scolded himself for letting Mao Mao trust him. As his eyes began to close, he apologized to his friend for letting him down.

A large beam of light shone through the water as it struck the octopus, slashing it in half and sending the pieces backward. Mao Mao watched as the pieces dissolved into nothing. Quickly, Mao Mao moved to grasp Badgerclops’s limp body. Running on adrenaline, he quickly swam upwards with his friend in tow.

Reggie and Rufus emerged from the lower decks, looking around as the rain that had fallen so heavily before transitioned to a soft sprinkle. “Sheriff, has the monster been dis-” Rufus immediately stopped as he saw Mao Mao leaning over Badgerclops’s body, his ear listening intently for any sounds of life.

“He’s breathing. It’s faint, but it’s there,” Mao Mao choked out. “Rufus, help me with Badgerclops!” he shouted.

“Yes, of course,” Rufus rushed to help lift the badger as they relocated him to perform first aid.

* * *

Slowly, Badgerclops opened his eyes. Instantly, he felt pain, causing him to go into a vicious coughing fit for a few seconds. His whole body ached, and as he slowly remembered the events that happened, his heart sank. He realized with a start that he was lying down on top of a bed. As he turned to his side, he saw Mao Mao sitting down in a chair beside him. As they made eye contact, Badgerclops saw his friend’s eyes widen, before tears started welling up in them. It wasn’t long before he started sniffling. Then, with a sudden movement, Mao Mao threw himself onto Badgerclops, fully breaking down as he sobbed into his fur.

“Badgerclops, I-,” he began through wails, “I was so scared. I was so scared that I had lost you.”

Badgerclops couldn’t help but feel guilty. After all, he had recklessly thrown himself into the water without making a plan with his teammate. As he pulled the sobbing cat in, he began to tear up himself. “I’m sorry, Mao Mao,” he spoke softly as a tear ran down his cheek. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“I don’t care about that,” Mao Mao shook his head vigorously. “I was j-just afraid of _ losing _ you.” He looked up to his partner. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Badgerclops pulled him in closer, petting his head as he continued to cry as well. “I won’t do that again. I’m sorry.” Badgerclops looked outside the window. It was already dark outside, the thousands of stars sparkling in the sky as moonlight shone through the window. He wondered if Mao Mao had really stayed with him the entire time he was unconscious. “What time is it?” he asked as he moved to stroke Mao Mao’s back.

“It’s a little past midnight now,” he sniffled softly.

“Have you stayed up this entire time?”

“Yes…”

Badgerclops felt even more guilty. It was entirely his fault that his partner had to go through all of this. “I’m so sorry, Mao-”

“Stop apologizing,” Mao Mao whispered, catching Badgerclops off guard. “I don’t care anymore. I just want to hold you for now,” he mumbled, wrapping his arms around Badgerclops as he rested his head on his chest. “I don’t want any more words.”

Badgerclops paused for a second, before nodding. Most of his pain had gone away by now, long forgotten as he continued to embrace the cat lying on top of him. Gently, he pulled a cover over the two, bringing his arms back together around Mao Mao as his body finally began to relax. Their tears began to dry as they both lay in silence. As he began to doze off, Badgerclops swore to never resign to death again as he had done. It meant leaving Mao Mao behind, and he wanted to be there to protect him for as long as he could. He felt it in his core again. He would do everything in his power to be there for Mao Mao. To be there to protect him. To be there for him.

* * *

Mao Mao slowly awoke as he shifted left and right. He felt himself rise and lower with each of the badger’s breaths. Instinctively, he nuzzled Badgerclops’s chest, relishing in its warmth and how it was soft, yet firm at the same time.

It was then, Mao Mao realized, that his face had grown hot again and the feeling had returned. It still frightened him that he couldn’t describe it properly, or maybe his emotions were misguided, but it was a feeling that made him want to stay in this moment forever.

A knock came from the door. Slowly, Rufus opened the cabin and peaked inside. “I just thought I should let you two know that we are approaching the mainland soon.”

“We’ll be up in a bit,” Mao Mao froze as he heard Badgerclops speak. As Rufus nodded and closed the door, the cat’s heart was racing. Had Badgerclops felt him nuzzle his chest? His face became even more flushed as he waited for Badgerclops to say something, but his partner simply resumed a regular breathing pattern. Just as he had said, Badgerclops softly nudged Mao Mao to get him up a little while after, but Mao Mao quickly moved to hide his face from his friend, still unable to get rid of his blush.

Badgerclops walked out of the cabin, watching how the sun once again glistened on the surface of the water. It was comforting after the thunderous storm they had been through. As Mao Mao joined him, they looked out towards the horizon. Even though they were still miles away, they could make out the outline of the city, with shining towers looming over everything in sight as large gears moved fans and transported carts across the different locations in the city. A multitude of ships lined the harbor as the city began roaring to life in the sunlight. They had finally reached the City of Commerce, their El Dorado where their next clue about Adorabat was hidden in the shops and stalls.

Mao Mao looked to Badgerclops and grinned. Smiling back, Badgerclops moved closer to his friend, and they both watched as the city grew in grandness and size as they approached.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew. That was a chapter.  
Adversity makes the soul stronger, right?  
In other news, thank you for 1k hits and 100 kudos! Every single one means a lot to me, and they motivate me to keep on writing more than you guys could ever know.  
I also want to thank everyone for their comments. Every time I get a notification, I read them and they always brighten my day. ^ ^  
I hope you've all enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you're looking forward to all the great grocery shopping that'll happen next!


	5. Commerce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mao Mao and Badgerclops try to find a map.

Even though Mao Mao was standing in place, he had to shift left and right frequently to avoid all the incoming traffic on the harbor. From the large crates being pushed on wheels to the unfortunate few that had to schlep leather bags, Mao Mao could tell that the chaos in the port was only a glimpse into what the inner city held.

“Alright!” Badgerclops returned to Mao Mao, Rufus, and Reggie with a ticket in his hand. “I got a permit to keep the boat docked for three days.”

“Is that just a permit to keep it here, though? How will you two protect it from thieves?” Rufus put a hand to his chin as he saw Badgerclops tuck the slip away.

“From what they told me, the yacht will be protected by the police here for as long as the ticket is valid. After that, though,” Badgerclops gave a nervous chuckle, “they said it was up for grabs.”

“Some policy, I do say,” Rufus shook his head.

“If that’s the problem, why didn’t you buy a ticket for longer?” Reggie chimed in.

“We don’t need longer than three days,” Mao Mao said bluntly. “I think three days is too much, anyways. It’s a waste of money.”

“Yes,” Badgerclops nodded. “That is the hopeful answer. Actually, they just wouldn’t let me buy anything longer than three days.”

“When you have a city as busy as this, I suppose you’d want to keep the harbor as clear as possible,” Rufus commented. “People are here for business, not holiday. There’s no need to loiter so long.”

“Yeah, it makes sense,” Badgerclops shrugged before patting Mao Mao on the back. “I’m going to go look for a city map. Don’t move too much,” he waved as he disappeared into the current of pedestrians.

Mao Mao turned to Rufus, seeing him scribbling onto a paper. “So,” he began, “what do you two plan on doing now that we’ve arrived?”

“Well,” Rufus looked up from his paper, staring at the golden towers that stood before them, “I’m not quite sure. It’s hard to do anything in a city of wealth without any wealth to spend.”

“You don’t plan on stealing anything, right?” Mao Mao narrowed his eyes.

Rufus simply laughed. “Sheriff, I doubt this city would be so revered for commerce if it was _ that _ easy to steal in.” Rufus tapped his pen against the piece of paper he held. “The thieving will have to wait.”

“For how long?”

Rufus hummed. “You’re awfully inquisitive today.” He turned to the side and raised an eyebrow. “What would you say if I told you I wasn’t sure of that either?”

“Really?” Mao Mao looked at the fox incredulously. “That’s strange, especially coming from a pair of bandits.”

“Please, sheriff, just because my occupation involves thievery does not mean I _ am _a thief alone. I live for other things, too.”

“Then what do you live for?”

Rufus paused and looked at the cat. From his years of conning, he became a keen observer of people’s emotions and expressions. Even though the question was delivered nonchalantly, Rufus saw the subtle desperation in Mao Mao’s eyes. There was confusion hidden there. Insecurity. He had always sensed an instability in Mao Mao, which was apparent more so now that they’d spent two days together. At the same time, though, Rufus had come to see another side of Mao Mao, especially one that didn’t hinge on the fact that their first interaction was a violent confrontation and that they were enemies.

Mao Mao watched as Rufus looked down at Reggie, who had been sitting quietly, listening to the entire conversation. When Reggie made eye contact with his partner, he gave a toothy grin.

“There are things out there to live for, sheriff,” Rufus patted the raccoon on the head as he spoke. “There are things, and there are things you wouldn’t call things. I don’t care much what occupation the future might bestow upon me. Conning was an easy way to acquire money, but money was not my end goal. In fact, I could start a culinary career today and not be fazed in the slightest, because my work is not my definition. Can you say the same, sheriff? If you were to lose your heroic abilities tomorrow, would you be lost? Is _ that _ your definition? Would you cease being? Are you certain your heroic ambition is your only dedication? If villainy vanished from this world, would you vanish with it?

“I think not, sheriff, for you are a good man. In your heart of hearts, I think exists a dedication that you’ve held for many years. If villainy were to vanish, I do believe you would be confused and lost, but I also believe that something exists there to, put simply, anchor you down. It is a hard realization, but it is a realization you will come to all the same, hopefully. If not, then I hope your soul finds solace in whatever fate you’d resigned to.

“Yet, you are a good man, so I leave you with this: have you committed yourself to this ambition for the sole purpose of fame and glory, or is there something that has bound you to it? Something that you would be afraid of losing if you lost that ambition? It’s a scary thought, but you must realize how wrong you are. Once you can do that, well, who can tell? Maybe then you can revisit that question you asked me. In that, maybe you can answer both questions: the one you asked me and the one you are asking yourself.”

Mao Mao could only muster a slow nod in response. He didn’t know how else to reply.

Rufus cleared his throat. “Well, I do believe it’s time for us to be on our way,” Rufus said as he handed his piece of paper to Reggie, who took and read it with intensity. “Although, I’ve never been one for goodbyes.” Rufus adjusted his scarf once more and began walking forward. As Reggie hopped towards his partner, Rufus raised a hand and gave a small wave. “Till next time, sheriff,” he said without turning back.

Mao Mao watched as Rufus took Reggie’s hand as they continued walking. Soon enough, the crowd of traffic covered the two, leaving the cat alone to his thoughts.

There was truth to what Rufus had told him, and Mao Mao knew it. In reality, he felt like something had clicked in place. There was an idea that Rufus had expressed that resonated with him, and he could feel it. Yet, he couldn’t quite place _ what _ had resonated with him. It frustrated him slightly, but no matter how many times he replayed the fox’s words in his head, he couldn’t pin it down.

“Dude, why is it so hard to find an information desk in this city?” Badgerclops pushed through the crowd as he returned out of breath. “I couldn’t get a map anywhere.” Badgerclops looked to the left and right of his friend. “Where’d our thieving pals go?” he asked.

“They just left a minute or two ago.”

Badgerclops gasped. “They didn’t even say bye to me!” he pouted. “Well, we don’t need them anyway. Two musketeers are just fine.”

“Badgerclops, there were three musketeers, not four,” Mao Mao commented.

“Ha!” Badgerclops pointed a finger into Mao Mao’s face. “You fool! You forgot about D’Artagnan.”

Mao Mao quickly grabbed Badgerclops’s finger and squeezed, causing the badger to whimper. “Call me a fool again and there’ll be just one musketeer left,” he snarled.

“Okay, okay! It was just a joke! Ow!” Badgerclops pulled his finger away and kissed it. “But there really were four musketeers,” he mumbled as he frowned.

“Whatever,” Mao Mao rolled his eyes. “Do you know where we’re going?”

“No clue,” he smiled. “There has to be some sort of information location in this city, but I couldn’t find one without getting too far from the harbor.”

“Okay,” Mao Mao looked at the crowd and tensed up. He was shorter than most of the passersby. “Badgerclops, how are we going to wade through this crowd while remaining together? If you had trouble walking forward, imagine how quickly I’d get swept away.”

Badgerclops hummed for a second. “I got it,” he exclaimed as he turned back to Mao Mao. In a swift movement, he lifted the cat and placed him on his shoulders.

“This again?!” Mao Mao huffed. “Badgerclops, I feel like a child like this!” he grumbled as he repeatedly patted the top of the badger’s head.

“Dude, stop that,” Badgerclops tried moving Mao Mao’s hand away, but the cat only retaliated by swatting his hands. “You’re acting like a kitten. Plus, you either ride on my shoulder or you get lost in a foreign city alone.”

“Fine,” Mao Mao crossed his arms and scrunched his face up.

“Also, you can see better than me now, so where do you think we should go?” Badgerclops asked as he grabbed both of Mao Mao’s legs, securing him.

Mao Mao raised a hand and surveyed the area. A station that looked particularly empty caught his eye. There, a skylift waited. Mao Mao followed the cable, seeing it lead farther into the city. The main entrance that he saw, on the other hand, was becoming more and more jammed with animals by the second.

“That way,” Mao Mao pointed in the direction of the station. He wasn’t sure where it led, but it was a start.

As Badgerclops moved through the crowd, Rufus’s words echoed through Mao Mao again. This time, the feeling was stronger. Mao Mao felt that, whatever had clicked in his mind, was just within arm's reach. Yet, he still couldn’t seem to grasp it.

As they approached the cart, a dog looked up from where he read a book, looking at the duo in slight bemusement.

“Hey, is this closed?” Badgerclops pointed to the skylift. The dog simply stared on, processing both the scene before him and the question.

His eyes widened and he quickly shook his head. “Oh, er, it’s open,” he said, coughing. “Sorry, not many tend to ride this lift this early.”

“Why’s that?” Mao Mao plopped his chin down to rest on Badgerclops’s head as he raised an eyebrow.

“Well, this goes to the Merchant District. Most shopkeepers haven’t set up yet.” The dog opened his book back up, dragging his finger across the page to find his spot again. “It’s a bad time to do business there.”

“So, there are fewer people?” Badgerclops asked.

“Yeah, I suppose,” the dog shrugged.

“Hot dog!” Mao Mao threw a fist in the air. “Get the lift ready, baby!”

The dog stared in confusion again. A city known for its commerce was a strange place to _ not _want to do commerce. “Okay then,” he drawled as he slowly leaned over to a control panel. As he pressed a button, the door jerked suddenly, before opening smoothly. “Thank you for using our city’s transportation system and enjoy your…,” he paused for a second as Badgerclops walked onto the lift, “…shopping.” He flicked another lever and waved as the skylift slowly powered on, beginning its ascent up the cable.

Mao Mao watched with amusement as the lift crept higher, the ground and the animals walking seeming farther and farther away. The large windmills that were attached to the golden towers turned in a synchronized, hypnotic motion. Down below, the hoards of pedestrians walking about melded together to form a blanket of colored dots that covered the ground.

“This view is…,” Mao Mao held his breath for a second, “memorizing, isn’t it?” he asked as he leaned down to see Badgerclops taking in the city.

“Yeah, it’s pretty chill.”

Mao Mao clicked his tongue and furrowed his brow. “Your word choice is always lackluster, Badgerclops.”

“Look, man,” Badgerclops raised a hand, “what else do you want me to say? So _ captivating _ ! How _ bewitching _ ! Absolutely _ pulchritudinous _! Just-”

Mao Mao smacked Badgerclops on the head, eliciting a yelp from the badger. “Keep mocking me. Don’t forget I’m up here.”

“Oh yeah?” Badgerclops rubbed his head. “Don’t forget that I can do something like this!” Quickly, Badgerclops squatted down, causing Mao Mao to shout from the shock of the sudden height displacement.

“You’ll give me a heart attack! Don’t do that,” the cat yelled. “Do it again and we’ll be shopping for aloe for your face!”

“I could actually jump up right now and end your entire career.”

Mao Mao moved his head down to Badgerclops’s shoulder. “Ha!” he exclaimed. “Now your head is above mine. Try jumping!”

“You’re an actual kid,” Badgerclops laughed.

“All I hear is resignation,” Mao Mao said smugly.

* * *

Somewhere in the city, a dark room existed that was home to a wall of monitors, all showing a live video feed of various locations in the city. In a chair, a woman sat bored, looking left and right at the screens as her eyes glazed over them. 

“The status of this position is nice,” she grabbed the back of the chair and twisted, loud pops echoing through the room, “but it’s an absolute _ bore _.” Returning her eyes to the screens, she sighed. “I just wish something would-”

As if someone had been listening to her, the woman noticed something odd in one of the monitors. A lift was making its way across a cable. Yet, the woman had never seen the car being used at this time of day. She reached for the control panel and manipulated the camera to zoom in. Slowly, the camera came to focus on the beings inside the car. Her eyes widened as she recognized the duo. Inside the cart, a small cat sat on top of a badger. They were yelling at each other, even though it didn’t seem maliciously aggressive. It exuded more of a “fools-fighting-for-nothing” aura.

As she processed this, the woman’s lips gradually curled upward into a smile. She let out a small chuckle, before bursting out into complete laughter.

“Ah, what a surprise,” she shook her head as she stood up from the chair. “Guess I’ll be having some fun today.”

* * *

“No, I don’t need nail clippers,” the cat hissed, causing the vendor to recoil and turn his attention towards another group of prospective customers.

Since Badgerclops and Mao Mao had entered the Merchant District, Badgerclops couldn’t take ten steps without a vendor halting them to try and pitch some absurd product. Even though the traffic was less than at the harbor, the vendors that were set up were more than enough to irritate the cat.

“If we keep walking forward, we’re bound to get somewhere, right?” Mao Mao tapped a finger on his arm repeatedly.

“We could always ask for directions,” Badgerclops said as he surveyed the area again, trying to find any sort of information kiosk or building. “We’d just have to find someone who’d be willing to help.”

“Are you boys lost?” a voice called out.

“Who said that?” Mao Mao looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. “We are very much lost and need help. Badgerclops, did you catch who asked that?”

Badgerclops didn’t respond. After looking for a few more seconds, Mao Mao noticed this and grew wary. “Earth to Badgerclops? You there?”

Suddenly, a large cloud of smoke exploded from under Mao Mao. He yelped as he fell to the floor, hitting the brick ground with a hard _ thud _. As he coughed and cleared the air to see, a pair of black legs awaited the cat. Confused, Mao Mao looked up, only for his eyes to grow wide in astonishment and horror.

Mao Mao quickly jumped to his feet and placed his hand on the hilt of his blade. “T-Tanya Keys?!” he exclaimed as the tanuki twirled and blew a kiss.

“The one and only,” Tanya giggled. “Actually,” Tanya drew a leaf from her back and threw it into the air. A cloud of smoke exploded from the leaf, revealing a second Tanya. The two tanukis looked at each other for a second before returning their gaze to Mao Mao. “I guess I can’t say that phrase with complete honesty, can I?” both Tanyas spoke in unison. 

“What are you doing here?!” Mao Mao was seething. It took every fiber in his body to avoid drawing his blade and slashing the woman before him.

“Well, I think I could ask you the same thing, Mittens,” one of the Tanyas whistled. The other put a hand to her brow and squinted past the cat. “Afterall, this is quite a ways from your _ precious _ Pure Heart Valley. That’s why I asked if you were lost,” she pouted mockingly.

“Where’s Badgerclops?!” Mao Mao screamed.

Tanya was slightly taken aback. She hadn’t seen Mao Mao express this much anger or emotion in a while. “Woah, calm down, Mittens,” she started. With a swift movement, the second Tanya waved as she transformed back into a leaf. As soon as she did, Tanya took the leaf and waved it around a few times. She proceeded to blow on it, letting it float in the air for a second before another cloud of smoke exploded from it. As the smoke settled, a dazed Badgerclops sat on the ground. “Look, he’s still intact. There’s no need to have a meltdown.”

“Dude, I’m freaked out,” Badgerclops shivered.

Tanya watched with intensity as Mao Mao ran over to his friend and hugged him. She paused her mocking for a second, watching as the badger returned the embrace with an arm. Tanya made a mental note of his before walking up to the duo. “Alright, I’ll stop for a second and be serious,” she said as she put her hands up. “What are you guys doing in the City of Commerce? I didn’t expect to see you two here, well, ever.”

Badgerclops stood up and dusted himself off. “First off, the king sent us to do some grocery shopping because, you know, that’s apparently in our job description.”

“Sounds about right, coming from your king.”

“But,” Mao Mao grimaced as he lowered his head, “the real reason we’re here is, well, Adorabat was kidnapped and taken from us. We know she’s in this city.” 

“Oh…,” Tanya replied. It was only apparent to Mao Mao, but he heard the sudden shift in her voice. For that singular second, the mischievous tone she always held behind her words had dropped, leaving behind an actual sentiment of sympathy. “If you’re looking for her in that instance, then…,” Tanya trailed off for a second, before walking towards Mao Mao and placing a hand on his shoulder. “Look, Mittens,” she began, “I know my way around this city. I can help you out, but that’s only if you’ll let me help you.”

Mao Mao huffed. He _ hated _the idea. Yet, he wasn’t sure where else he could get any help in the city. 

Badgerclops walked over to Mao Mao and placed a hand on his back. “Man, I know you have your pride to maintain, but remember who we’re doing this for, alright? I believe in you,” he smiled.

After another pause, Mao Mao spoke, “Alright, I’ll take your help, Tanya.”

The tanuki grinned. “Alright then, we have some work to do,” she winked, her mischievous nature back in full force.

“So, how do we get to the Trading Circle of Demons?” Mao Mao asked.

“People still use that name?” Tanya mimicked a gagging motion. “That’s terribly archaic and serious, although,” she hummed as she looked Mao Mao up and down, “I guess that’s fitting of you, no?”

“Spare me the teasing, won’t you?” Mao Mao hissed.

“Hey, throw me a bone sometimes, Mittens,” she tilted her head in a faux pleading manner. “Personally, I prefer the Den of Scoundrels. I feel it’s much more fitting.”

“That sounds like the name of a treehouse a group of hooligans made up,” Badgerclops commented.

“I think that’s the perfect description of the black marketplace here,” Tanya giggled.

“Except that the hooligans partake in the trafficking of actual beings in this clubhouse,” Mao Mao deadpanned.

“I guess there is that to consider,” Tanya said, amused. “Anyways, if you want an answer to your question, your answer is me,” Tanya pointed a thumb into her chest.

There was an awkward silence shared by the three of them. “Yes,” Mao Mao nodded, “that is why I’m asking you how do we get there.”

Tanya shook her head. “You misunderstand me, I _ am _how you get there.”

Mao Mao simply furrowed his brow in confusion.

“Badger boy, do you know how the system works here?”

Badgerclops rubbed the back of his head and sheepishly laughed. “I’ve never actually been here, so not really?”

“I thought you said you had a ‘concrete plan!’” Mao Mao gritted through his teeth.

“Yeah,” Badgerclops crossed his arms. “It was to find a map and go to the place that said ‘shady underground place.’”

“I’m surrounded by buffoons,” Tanya sighed. “I mean that I’m the gatekeeper.”

Badgerclops and Mao Mao only blinked in response.

“Basically, I’m a head honcho here right now.”

“You’re what?!” Mao Mao yelled in shock. He brought his hands to his head and began slowly rocking back and forth. “Oh, father, forgive me for working with such a criminal.”

“Dude, dude, chill out,” Badgerclops began rubbing Mao Mao’s back to ease the cat’s tension. “So,” Badgerclops turned his attention towards the tanuki, who seemed to be analyzing Mao Mao intensely, “what does that mean for us?”

“First off, to get Mittens to stop having a moral meltdown, I am not a _ supervillain _ or whatever because I’m a gatekeeper,” she waved dismissively. “It’s a volunteering job offered to those who know a thing or two about the city. All I do is filter the people who are allowed in.”

“So, if you’re going to help us, you’ll let us in?” Mao Mao asked, finally getting himself together.

“Just a minute,” Tanya wagged a finger and brought a hand to her chest. “Just because I agreed to _ help _ you doesn’t mean I can just let you waltz into an agglomeration of villains. I have to uphold my status through my standards, you see.”

“So, what are your standards?” Badgerclops questioned.

“Well,” Tanya transformed a leaf into a rolled-up list that was as thick as her arm, “Give me thirty minutes to list off all the requirements you have to meet.”

“No,” Mao Mao said bluntly. “I refuse.”

Tanya acquired a lighter and set the list ablaze. “You never let me have fun. The list was fake,” she rolled her eyes. “If you want to know, big boy over there passes my test and you don’t, Mittens.”

“What?!” Mao Mao yelled. “Why does Badgerclops get to pass?”

“Well, first off, he’s a villain,” Tanya began. “That’s about it.”

“Hey,” Badgerclops stomped a foot down, “_ Ex-villain _, mind you.”

“Once a villain, always a villain, Badger boy,” Tanya giggled.

“So then,” Mao Mao’s face had fallen, “you won’t allow me entry?”

“Don’t give me that look, Mittens,” Tanya looked away. “I said I’d help you, but you’ll have to pass a certain set of requirements tailored just for you.” Tanya put a finger to her chin as she pondered her test. “I have an idea, but Badger man over here will have to stay out of the picture.”

“What?” Mao Mao looked at the tanuki angrily. “No. Badgerclops and I stay together.”

“If you don’t follow my rules, you don’t make it into the Den,” Tanya turned around. “It’s as simple as that. It’s just a little test, so don’t fret over it.”

Mao Mao gripped the air furiously. First, the woman was going to put him through a test, but to also tell him that he’d have to separate from Badgerclops for it? He refused to do it. After yesterday, the last thing he wanted to do was leave Badgerclops alone.

Mao Mao felt the same wall of fur come up from behind him. Two arms wrapped around him, and Mao Mao felt Badgerclops put his chin onto the cat’s head. “Okay, dude,” he began, “I know you don’t want to do this whole test, which is probably all smoke and mirrors, but I’m not going into the Den without you, so I need you to do it, alright? Plus, while Tanya is making you complete her requirements, I can go shopping for everything the king asked us for or whatever. It’s, like, literally the worst thing to me because I hate grocery shopping, but I’ll do it if you promise me to do Tanya’s test.”

Mao Mao lowered his head and sighed. Badgerclops was right: he couldn’t let his friend go to save Adorabat alone. He had to put up with the tanuki, for Badgerclops’s sake. “Alright, I’ll do it,” he nodded.

“That’s my Mao cubed,” Badgerclops hugged Mao Mao tighter.

“Your nicknames only get worse as time goes on,” Mao Mao growled. “Let go of me; you disgust me right now.”

“Haha, okay,” Badgerclops let go of Mao Mao as he fixed his cape.

Even though Tanya hadn’t turned around, she was listening intently to the entire conversation. That was the final piece. With that, she confirmed her suspicions. She had her test ready. “You ready to go, Mittens?” she turned around and gestured for the cat to come closer.

“Oh, wait!” Badgerclops yelled, running towards the tanuki and startling her a bit. “Before you go,” he brought two claws up and tapped them together. “Do you happen to have a map?”

Tanya pulled out a leaf and transformed it into a detailed plan of the city. “Go wild, big boy.”

“Thank you,” he grinned, before beginning his examination of the map.

“Alright, we can be on our way, then,” Tanya said as she waited for the cat to catch up to her.

Mao Mao walked towards the tanuki, before stopping in front of Badgerclops. He turned to look Badgerclops up and down. His friend hardly saw him, engrossed in figuring out the map. Tanya saw as his body shook a little bit before Mao Mao rushed to hug Badgerclops, startling him slightly and snapping him out of his examinational trance.

“I-I’ll see you later, Badgerclops,” he muttered.

“Oh,” Badgerclops returned the gesture. “Yeah, dude. Don’t let Tanya kill you.”

“I’ll get her before she has the chance to get me,” he laughed, pulling away.

“I’m right here,” Tanya commented. “Hurry it up, Mittens, I have time, but I’m not sure how much you have.”

Mao Mao nodded, walking to Tanya’s side. As they continued forward, however, Tanya noticed how Mao Mao kept looking back to look at Badgerclops until he had finally disappeared behind a stall.

Tanya laughed internally. He was making this_ too _easy, she thought. Yet, he had always been a little hard-headed. Always intent on seeing things one way. Even if his actions and ideas didn’t line up, he would never admit to it.

If he could get out of that habit, even for this one situation, she’d let him through to the Den of Scoundrels. It would serve him better in the end anyway. He’d be happier.

“So,” Mao Mao coughed and looked away, “what exactly do you have planned for this test? Are you going to have me steal?”

“That’d be amusing to watch,” Tanya smiled as she thought about it. “But, I have a different plan in mind.”

And so they continued walking down brick streets as the pair avoided the increasing traffic loads. Mao Mao said nothing as he silently followed Tanya, not too interested in creating conversation, not even small talk. Though, the tanuki had a very clear destination in mind and was fine with letting the simple chatter of the area fill the silence. Gradually, she led the cat to Le Quartier de L'amour, a district known for all things romantic.

Yes, she smiled, maybe the cat would finally admit something to himself. If he could show that he hadn’t relapsed back into his old habits since they’d last met, he’d easily pass her test.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter down!  
I think my favorite part of this chapter was writing Rufus's monologue. Who would've figured he'd be the first one in the story? Don't worry; he won't be the last!  
Also, Tanya! I'm excited to write more of her in the upcoming chapters.  
Yes, there will be actual grocery shopping in the next chapter. Apologizes for the delay.  
As always, thank you for the kind comments! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. ^ ^


	6. Examination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Badgerclops goes shopping. Mao Mao takes a test.

Badgerclops sighed and pressed his face against the glass of the skylift. He _ really _ didn’t want to go looking for all these groceries. Pulling Snugglemagne’s list out again, Badgerclops struggled to pronounce half of what the king was requesting. In fact, he wasn’t even sure half of what the king was requesting even _ existed _. He detested shopping, and shopping for exotic food in a foreign city in a crowded marketplace didn’t ameliorate the situation.

Yet, Badgerclops stared out to the Merchant District, where he and Mao Mao had said goodbye to one another. He thought about the test that Tanya was putting him through and how much Mao Mao was probably hating it, too.

Badgerclops took a deep breath and nodded to himself. No matter how much he hated this, Mao Mao was going through the same pain. It’d be one less thing for his partner to deal with if he could get the shopping done now. Mao Mao already had enough to deal with, and if Badgerclops had the chance to prevent any additional stress from piling onto his friend, then he was going to do just that.

Though, Badgerclops wasn’t sure where he’d start looking for _ Diospyros kaki Fuyu _. As he grumbled the name to himself repeatedly under his breath, a few other passengers in the car looked to each other in slight concern.

* * *

“So,” Mao Mao watched as Tanya stopped walking and turned around, staring at the cat inquisitively, “what’s the test?”

Tanya paused, narrowing her eyes as she exaggerated a hum. In a swift movement, she raised a hand and snapped. “Go on a date with me.”

“What?! No!” Mao Mao exclaimed, stepping backward in disgust. “You’re joking.”

“Well, only slightly,” Tanya shrugged as she jumped to close the distance between the two. “I want a playdate, Mittens,” she said, holding a leaf and looking at it longingly. “It’s been a while since we’ve had the chance to, well, do anything.”

“For a good reason.”

“That’s one of the things I miss!” She thrust the leaf into his face. “Those quippy remarks.” Taking the leaf back, which had turned into a handkerchief with a burst of smoke, Tanya dabbed at her eyes. “Makes me miss the days when you weren’t so averse to working with me.”

“Don’t put words in my mouth,” Mao Mao gritted. “I’m _ not _ averse to working with you.”

Tanya stopped and raised an eyebrow at the cat. “Mhm, very convincing, Mittens,” she claimed as the handkerchief vanished. “Take me on a tour of the city,” Tanya jumped onto a streetlight and spun around it. “Show me the best spots!” she beamed as she extended an arm. “I want to _ experience _ something today.”

“I don’t know this city!” Mao Mao yelled, causing some passersby to stare in concern and fear. “Do you want to go see the dock? I can show you the ticket booth to catch a ride out of here if you want,” he huffed.

“What a gentleman you are,” Tanya chuckled. After Mao Mao refused to respond or look her way, she rolled her eyes and patted his back. “You know I just love messing with you, Mittens,” she said, procuring a flower and offering it to the cat. “You’re always just so serious. It’s great material.”

“Well, I don’t appreciate it,” Mao Mao took the flower, examining it intensely for deceit.

“That’s news to me,” Tanya said in faux surprise. Mao Mao shot her a death glare, causing her to shake her head and continue her train of thought. “I just wish you’d humor me sometimes,” she sighed. Slowly, Tanya raised a foot and began marching away from Mao Mao. “Whenever you’re ready to start our catching-up, I’ll be over here. Also, that’s a bona fide flower. No need to scrutinize it.”

Mao Mao returned his eyes to the flower, looking at it with a softer gaze this time.

He knew he didn’t _ seriously _hate Tanya, but whenever they saw each other again, there was a nagging at the back of his mind that told him to stay as far away as he could, physically and emotionally. Maybe it wasn’t even Tanya, but his past that Mao Mao didn’t want to confront. Whenever he saw Tanya, his past came back to haunt him. He didn’t want to make himself vulnerable to that. 

Looking up to Tanya, who rubbed her fingers together as she tapped her foot, Mao Mao realized that he’d have to open up again if he wanted to save Adorabat. He didn’t know what Tanya’s standard for him would be to pass her test, but he knew that his current attitude wouldn’t cut it. Gripping onto the flower a little more tightly, Mao Mao exhaled and closed his eyes. The drone of static in the distance bothered him, but it was something he’d have to bear for Adorabat’s sake. Walking forward, Mao Mao only wished that Badgerclops were here to help him. He always seemed to make the noise go away.

Tanya heard Mao Mao approach from behind and smiled. “You know,” she began, looking at the various chairs and tables where couples sat, eating peacefully, “I’ve never actually eaten at a real restaurant here before.” She turned around, seeing that Mao Mao had tucked the flower into the red sash around his waist. “It’s a little strange, but I also have to keep monitoring the city _ basically _ twenty-four-seven, so I guess I have that excuse.”

“Wait, is anyone monitoring the city while you’re here with me?” Mao Mao asked.

Tanya paused for a second. “I’m sure it’ll be fine for an hour,” she replied dismissively. 

Mao Mao sharply inhaled through his teeth in annoyance. How could someone acting as a sheriff be so nonchalant about a blatant disregard of their duty? Shaking his head to get his mind off of Tanya’s flimsy moral code, he said, “So you want to dine together?”

Tanya gasped and raised a hand to cover her mouth in shock. “What a wonderful idea, Mittens!” she clapped. “To think you would suggest such a _ fine _ thing, without yours truly having to say _ anything _ or do _ any _ hinting, of course. That’s extra points on your exam,” she giggled as she pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled nonsense.

“Would you-” Mao Mao was already forming a scowl before he caught himself mid-sentence. He cleared his throat before averting his gaze and continuing. “Of course,” he managed to mutter out. “The more points, the, uh, merrier?” he stammered.

Tanya smiled. It wasn’t at all a good joke, or even a relevant joke, a testament to Mao Mao’s awkwardness in non-serious social situations, but it was a testament to his efforts. So far, he was doing well.

“Here,” Tanya beckoned as she began walking towards a lavish restaurant. “This place looks the most appealing to me right now.” She turned to the cat and raised an eyebrow. “Do you eat out much?”

“The occasional pizza,” Mao Mao replied.

“As to be expected,” Tanya coughed under her breath.

“What?”

“Lucky for you, though,” Tanya quickly stepped in and grabbed onto Mao Mao’s shoulder, “we’ll be having something other than faux Italian!” She put a hand to his chin and lifted his head so that he could read the sign. “Welcome to Le Salon de Cuisine!” 

“Sounds interesting,” Mao Mao nodded. “What does it say?”

“Does it look like I speak French?” Tanya asked as she pushed the door open.

“Erm, no. I guess-”

“Trick question: I do,” she laughed. “Don’t judge people by appearances. Also, you could read it fine in English, but you miss the subtlety of Le Salon referring to the art exhibition hosted by the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1667 Paris and how this place is supposed to be an art exhibition, too, except with food instead of artistic pieces, and all other sorts of subtle meaning only recognized by the people of the aristocracy or other high-classed individuals like me. Something along those lines."

Mao Mao stared with a disgruntled expression. “What did you say?”

“This place serves food, Mittens. Now hurry up,” she said as she continued holding the door open.

As soon as Mao Mao walked in, a savory aroma hit his nose. Even as he smelled the salt of the sizzling meats, it mixed with an ineffable sweetness that failed to overpower it, but rather exemplified its qualities. In fact, Mao Mao could swear that he could pinpoint many of the ingredients in the food being prepared in the kitchen based on their scent alone. The ingredients weren’t mixing together, but rather _ dancing _together. It was an unusual feeling, but Mao Mao’s stomach was welcoming it gladly.

A napkin landed square on the cat’s face, startling him and causing him to jump slightly. As he pulled it off in annoyance, he looked up to see Tanya looking at him, subtly doing a wiping motion at her own mouth. It took a second before Mao Mao registered why she was wiping at her mouth. Face slightly flushed, he wiped the small trail of saliva that had run down his chin as he followed Tanya to a table.

* * *

“Won’t you take some dragon fruit while you’re here, though? I can swear they’re better than whatever you’re looking for,” the lady behind the stall leaned in as she held the fruit up, slowly nudging it closer and closer.

“No!” Badgerclops scooted away quickly. “I already told you this three times: I don’t want your fruit! Dragons freak me out!”

“Come on, mister,” the lady started sniffling. “I’m just trying to feed my family. Won’t you give a gal some money?”

“You literally have fruit to feed your family! Feed them that!” Badgerclops yelled as he quickly pushed passed other shoppers, trying to ignore the shouts of the lady trying to beckon him back. Badgerclops found an alley and quickly dove in, putting his back against the wall and breathing heavily as he set his bag down to rest.

“Why are all the merchants here _ crazy _?” he stammered as he tried to catch his breath. Whenever he tried to ask if someone was selling a particular fruit, they’d insist he buy something else if they didn’t have what he was looking for. Most of them didn’t know personal space either, a couple stepping out from behind their stalls to beg the badger to buy something from them.

Carrying around a large, heavy sack wasn’t helping, either. Badgerclops silently cursed himself for always lying to Mao Mao about exercising as he stretched his aching arms.

Along those lines, too, Badgerclops found himself missing Mao Mao more and more. When it came to physical labor, Badgerclops could usually complain and Mao Mao would roll his eyes and help him. More than that, though, he and Mao Mao had been together for the past few days, never actually being separated until now. For some reason, Badgerclops was just realizing how _ alone _ he actually felt without Mao Mao by his side. He was a little sad.

Badgerclops looked to the bag of fruit and sighed. He figured now would be a good time to drop off whatever he had at the yacht so that he wouldn’t be forced to keep on carrying such a heavy load. He had acquired just a little under half of what the king had asked for, so he was hoping Mao Mao was about halfway done with his test, too.

Standing up, Badgerclops looked at the map that Tanya had provided him and tried looking for his location. Luckily, he was only about a five-minute walk from the harbor. Grabbing the bag, he hefted it over his shoulder and began walking back into the sea of commuters.

* * *

Tanya stared intensely at Mao Mao, watching as he fidgeted in his seat every so often, eyes wandering and looking at the decor in an attempt to avoid eye contact. “No conversation while we wait for our food, Mittens?” she asked as she raised a spoon and lightly tapped the side of her water glass.

“Oh,” he coughed. “How have, um, you been...recently?”

“That’s just weak,” Tanya rolled her eyes.

“What do you expect of me?” he gritted. “I’m not the most eloquent when it comes to words. You know this.”

“You are right about that, alright,” Tanya softly giggled. “Yet, I think you’re not the most eloquent when it comes to a lot of other things, too.”

“Jeez, thanks,” Mao Mao replied with a straight face as he laid his head down on the table.

“I didn’t mean it as a jab,” the tanuki patted his head softly. “It’s more of an observation.”

“Is that why you’ve been staring at me?” Mao Mao lifted his head and raised an eyebrow. 

“So you noticed,” Tanya smiled. “You were always pretty perceptive when you wanted to be.”

“It’s not that hard to notice when you always have your eyes on me. And what is that second part supposed to mean?”

Tanya inhaled and held her breath. Here went nothing.

“What’s on your mind, Mittens?”

“Nothing in particular.”

“Are you sure?”

“I mean, I guess I have this test, Adorabat, Badgerclops, and a lot of other stuff, but why are you asking? It’s not really a table-worthy conversation, is it?”

“Not on the surface, I suppose.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You’ve been asking for meaning a lot, have you noticed?”

They shared a paused.

“All you’ve been spouting is cryptic stuff. What else am I supposed to do?”

“Maybe so, but I think I have a good reason to be saying a lot of cryptic stuff.”

“Well, I don’t appreciate it. I’ve been getting a lot of cryptic stuff today.”

“Such as?”

Mao Mao looked down at his napkin.

“I guess there is something on my mind.”

“You don’t say?”

“I _ do _say, actually.”

Tanya let out a giggle.

“Well, what is it?”

“When we arrived in this city, I was traveling with an acquaintance of sorts. We parted ways once we docked, but he left me with a few words that I still haven’t figured out yet. Something, deep down, clicked with what he said, but I guess I haven’t really internalized it yet.”

“What’d he say?”

“‘I think exists a dedication that you’ve held for many years.’ He also went on and asked me if I’ve committed myself to this ambition for fame and glory, or if there’s something else binding me.”

“By ‘this ambition,’ did he mean your heroic antics?”’

“Don’t call them antics! It’s a legitimate job I take seriously! And yes, he did mean my heroic _ responsibility _.”

“Whatever you’d like to call it, that is quite a bit to chew and digest, isn’t it?”

“It’s been bothering me all day. There were times when I felt I got close to the answer, but I never could grasp it.”

Tanya watched the flame in the candle between the two.

“Well, what was happening when you felt close to the answer?”

Mao Mao hummed.

“Let’s see. I was riding Badgerclops the first time.”

Tanya spat out her drink and coughed for a second, slamming a fist into her chest as she tried to avoid choking. “I’m sorry,” she sputtered through fits of hacking, “you were doing _ what _ now?”

Mao Mao stared incredulously. “I was riding atop of Badgerclops’s shoulders,” he slowly replied, confused by Tanya’s sudden outburst.

Tanya took a napkin and began wiping at all the water she had spurted out. “Of course,” she laughed. “My apologies. The water tasted...funny. Don’t mind me. Continue on,” she awkwardly smiled as she looked down to hide the nervous sweat that had appeared on her brow.

Mao Mao only stared for a few seconds, before shaking his head.

“Right. The second time it hit me was right before I left to have our test.”

“You hugged Badgerclops before we went off.”

Mao Mao paused for a second.

“I guess I did. I kinda forgot about that, I think.”

“So, you’re saying that whenever you were around Badgerclops, you felt closer to the answer?”

There was silence.

“Yeah, I guess so. I didn’t really consider that since I’m usually around Badgerclops. I didn’t really see it as anything noteworthy.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. I mean, especially these past few days, Badgerclops and I have been pushing through it together the entire time. I don’t think I would have made it this far if Badgerclops wasn’t by my side.”

“I don’t think Badgerclops would have made it this far either if it wasn’t for you.”

“You think so?”

“I’m pretty sure I know.”

Mao Mao pulled out the flower from his sash, setting it on the table.

“The more that I think about it, the more I don’t think I would have made it through _ anything _if Badgerclops wasn’t there beside me. After Bao Bao left me, I was pretty lonely. Don’t get me wrong; the first few months with Badgerclops were hard. He was still largely set in his villainous ways, and we got into a lot of quarrels during that period, but it’s different now. Back then, I used to think of myself as a moral compass for Badgerclops. I’d be the one to help him along the way. But now, I sometimes think that he’s my beacon of light, shining through whenever I get lost in darkness.”

“That was more poetic than I’m used to coming from you.”

“Oh, zip it. It wasn’t meant to be. It just came out like that. I guess I was just trying to say...”

Tanya moved closer. “You were trying to say?”

Mao Mao paused. He had found a part of his answer, but it wasn’t the entire piece. He wasn’t sure what was missing, but if talking to Tanya was helping him, there was no point in hiding anything from her.

“I guess I’m afraid of losing Badgerclops. If I were to stop being a hero, then why would Badgerclops need to stick around? He’s my ‘co-hero,’ after all. Past that, what is he? If I weren’t a hero anymore, couldn’t he just leave me?”

Tanya moved back and thought for a second. She hadn’t expected him to be this open to her, but it was great. He wasn’t there, though, and he still had yet to pass her test. She needed to keep on.

“I don’t think Badgerclops is that shallow, and I also don’t think it’s fair for you to ask what Badgerclops is past a co-hero. You know well what he is.”

“You’re right. There’s just always that weird doubt in the back of my mind that tells me that Badgerclops is just here because he has to be. That Badgerclops doesn’t really see me as, y’know, his friend.”

“Mittens, you know-”

“I know, I know. It’s not at all right. It’s stupid thinking. Badgerclops has told me before that it’s not at all what he thinks. But the nagging is still at the back of my mind. It’s always there.”

Tanya looked down. It was the classic insecurity case. No matter how much reaffirmation or comfort someone got, they wouldn’t be able to shake their fears. Tanya couldn’t be the one to help him, either. She was quickly losing him, and she wasn’t entirely sure what to do.

While they were talking, a waiter had walked up to their table. “Would you two like your glasses refilled while you wait?”

“Yes, and thank you,” Tanya gave a soft smile.

“No thanks,” Mao Mao said, his head resting on the table again.

“Are you sure? Talking for quite some time is sure to parch the throat, sheriff,” the waiter replied in a suave voice.

Mao Mao quickly lifted his head and gasped. “Rufus?!” he exclaimed. “Why are you here?”

“I would say long time no see, but,” Rufus poured some water into Mao Mao’s glass, “it’s only been a few short hours. In some contexts, I guess that is long though, no?”

“Mittens, I thought you told me you didn’t know this city. How do you know someone working here?” Tanya asked as she took a sip.

“I don’t know! Rufus, why are you here? How did you get a job here in a few hours?” Mao Mao asked, flabbergasted.

“I told you I could start a culinary career today, yes? Well, I have started,” he smiled. 

“Are you even qualified to work at a restaurant?” Mao Mao questioned.

“I didn’t know pouring water into glasses required formal qualifications,” Rufus rotated his pitcher as he inspected it.

“Ha!” Tanya slapped on the table and burst out laughing. “I like your friend here. He’s good.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Rufus bowed. “I take pride in being _ quite _ the crowd-pleaser.” Setting the pitcher down, Rufus extended a hand. “Because the dear sheriff here has caught his own tongue and has yet to introduce me, I am Rufus. I was the aforementioned acquaintance that traveled the sea with him.”

Tanya howled with laughter and took the fox’s hand, shaking it vigorously. “Cat got his own tongue, that’s hilarious! Lord, it should be illegal to be this good!”

“Another crime to add to my list? Don’t mind if I do. I wear them like badges.”

“A man of the underworld, are we? What are you doing as a waiter here, then?”

Rufus adjusted the tux he was wearing and smiled. “My usual routine of con and deceit.”

Mao Mao glared at the fox. “I thought you said you weren’t going to steal anytime soon.”

Rufus brought up a finger and made a cross-motion across his chest. “I haven’t stolen anything yet, sheriff. That does not mean I am suddenly a good man at heart.”

“You’re amazing,” Tanya commented.

“I appreciate the compliments, but I feel that is enough of me,” Rufus said as he pulled up a chair and sat down between the two. “I overheard the conversation being had over here, and I’m interested in continuing it.”

Tanya gave a mental sigh of relief. Technically, Mao Mao had to get through this test alone, but she had already been giving him hints in the first place. Rufus and she were similar, too, so she’d just pass off the fox as an extension of her.

Mao Mao looked to his side solemnly.

“Still hung up on what I said earlier, are we?” Rufus tilted his head. “Consider it a good thing, first.”

“Why? I can’t figure it out,” Mao Mao muttered.

“It means you haven’t given up on yourself. I told you that this would be something you’d have to realize, right?” Rufus took a napkin from the center of the table and began folding it. “If you’re still thinking about it, especially after hours of musing, then you still have hope for yourself.”

“Well spoken,” Tanya nodded.

“But you’re here!” Mao Mao gestured wildly to Rufus. “What did you mean in what you said?! I feel close, but I can’t get it at all! Why don’t you just tell me?!”

“Please, sheriff,” Rufus rolled his eyes, “do you think me a man to sacrifice my own monologue and your development by simply _ telling _you? You can clearly think through this, but you have a mental guard up.”

“Who are you afraid of losing?” Tanya interjected.

“B-Badgerclops,” Mao Mao rubbed his arm.

“You’ve made some good progress,” Rufus looked to Tanya, impressed.

“It’s not enough, though,” Tanya quickly retorted. “Why are you afraid of losing him?”

“W-Well, he’s my friend.”

“More,” Tanya leaned in.

“He’s my best friend! We’ve been through a lot together. I don’t want to lose him!”

“Who’s your anchor?” Rufus asked.

“B-Badgerclops. He’s my light.”

“Why?” Rufus followed up swiftly.

“He’s always been there for me. No matter what happened, he didn’t abandon me.”

“So why are you afraid of losing him? Why didn’t he abandon you?” Tanya asked.

“Why is he your light, your anchor?” Rufus added.

“Why do you want Badgerclops by your side?” Rufus and Tanya both asked the cat, only inches away from his face.

Mao Mao couldn’t hear them. Tears were running down his face and the static was blaring in his mind. It wasn’t their harsh questioning, but the answers that were dredging up years of repressed emotions and trauma. He didn’t deserve love. There was no way his _ ugly _ , _ disfigured _ body could garner any affection from anyone.

Yet, why did Badgerclops never desert him? Mao Mao deserved it. He deserved to be abandoned by everyone. He was a hopeless case, a complete waste of space.

But Badgerclops didn’t think that. Amidst the static, Mao Mao remembered all the times he had cried to Badgerclops about his feelings of unworthiness, unsightliness, and undesirableness. Badgerclops always shut down everything terrible he had to say about himself, no matter what. In those moments, Mao Mao believed him, too. Is that why he wanted to stay by Badgerclops’s side: to make himself feel better about his own worth? Wasn’t that selfish?

“Hey, Mao Mao…,” a voice called out distinct from all the rest as claws caressed his cheek. Mao Mao recognized it instantly, and he looked up. Sitting before him was the badger in question, giving that same smile he had when they had first found out Adorabat was missing.

It wasn’t a smile of glee or happiness, but rather a smile of acceptance. A smile that reminded Mao Mao that he wasn’t alone.

A smile that made the static go away.

“I-I...,” Mao Mao hesitated, but even with all the doubt and years of pent up self-hatred, he couldn’t stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth. They weren’t pretty, but they were the truth from his heart. Bearing all the hurt, and bearing all the pain. They were unfiltered words that carried the weight of every emotion Mao Mao had ever bottled up inside.

“I-I love you, Badgerclops,” he spoke softly.

In a sudden gust of wind, Mao Mao was blinded by smoke as he protected his eyes. As he slowly opened them, he saw a nodding Rufus and smiling Tanya waiting for him.

“Mittens!” Tanya quickly rushed to the cat’s side and pulled him into a tight embrace. “You did it. Oh my God!” she yelled, quickly pulling away and wiping a joyful tear from one eye. “I hope you’re not mad at me for transforming into the badger man himself, but you needed that final push to get you there. Also, can you believe I had to call you by your _ real _ name to make it convincing?” Tanya made a gagging motion. “Never again.”

It took Mao Mao a moment to process everything that had happened in the past minute. Once he finally did, his cheeks turned red. He sat back down and stared blankly at the candle. “I...said I _ love _him?”

“That you did,” Rufus nodded.

“Well, I mean, yeah!” Mao Mao began laughing and put a hand to his face. “I love him as, like, a family member. Or, maybe, just the casual friendly-”

Tanya quickly moved to cover the cat’s mouth. “It’s okay, Mittens. There’s no need to be in denial of it anymore.”

Mao Mao looked down as Tanya slowly moved her hand from his mouth. He couldn’t be_ in love _ with his best friend, right? “I love you” can be said in a multitude of contexts that weren’t romantic, so it was fine, right? Yet, Mao Mao felt the garbled words threatening to come out again from his slimy throat. He felt like vomiting them over and over again until they lost their meaning. No, not quite lost their meaning. He felt like vomiting them until they finally reached their true destination: Badgerclops.

“But,” Mao Mao seized up instantly, “what do I do? I shouldn’t tell him, right? That’d make everything awkward between us. What if he doesn’t feel the same connection I do?”

Tanya was about to comment before Rufus put up a hand and nodded to her. “Sheriff,” he began, running a finger down the condensation sitting on the outside of his chilled water pitcher, “there are two things you can do now. You can either hide this feeling away, except consciously now, and let it eat away at you for every interaction you have with your partner, or you can tell him how you feel, giving him a chance to properly respond.”

“What if I tell him and he doesn't feel the same?”

Rufus waved a hand. “To hell with ‘what if’s.’ No matter what he says, I believe things will work out. I’ll have you know I was in your situation once,” Rufus said as he twiddled with his fingers. “I was close to not taking the risk, but if you never take that risk, you never have a chance of reaping the benefits.” Rufus put a hand to his chest and smiled. “I guess it’s easier done for a criminal. But you’ve taken enough chances in your heroic career, too.”

Mao Mao looked back down to his hand. He still wasn’t entirely sure of this feeling and whether it was right, but it was the answer he had been looking for.

“Alright,” Mao Mao clenched his fist and looked up. “I think I can do it.”

“There’s no time to waste,” Tanya said as she proceeded to get up from her chair.

“Wait, what about the food?” Mao Mao asked, watching as Tanya quickly proceeded to put a few silver utensils into a small bag.

“I wasn’t planning on paying, anyway,” she smiled. “It’s better if we just leave now.”

“Sly tanuki,” Rufus laughed in agreement.

“Tanya Keys…,” Mao Mao gritted through his teeth as the duo rushed out of the restaurant.

Rufus waved as the door swung closed. Picking up the glasses of water, he moved into the kitchen and placed them into the sink. Looking around to ensure he hadn’t aroused any suspicion, Rufus quickly made his way into the back room that housed excess food supply.

Turning the lights on, Rufus watched as the room illuminated to reveal Reggie sitting comfortably on one of the shelves, eating away at a wheel of cheese. “Hey Rufus!” the raccoon excitedly whispered.

“Already started digging into our goods now, have we, Reg?” Rufus walked up to Reggie and smiled. “In any case, I think I’ve made the necessary arrangements to make sure our route is infallible.”

“Aw,” Reggie sighed, deflated. “I wanted to finish this cheese wheel.”

“Well, my dear partner, if we vamoose quickly, you’ll have all the time in the world to finish the wheel to your heart’s content.” Rufus rubbed the side of the raccoon’s cheek tenderly.

“Do you wanna share?” Reggie ripped off a piece of the cheese and held it out for Rufus to take.

“Outside, darling. We’ll have to move soon if we want to make sure we make it out,” Rufus replied as he looked around for the bag of stolen goods they had stashed away.

“Okay,” Reggie said, setting the pieces of cheese down. “But before we do that,” he continued, standing up.

“Yes, what is-”

Rufus was caught off guard as Reggie grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him into a kiss. Slowly, Rufus relaxed and brought a hand up to caress the side of his lover’s face.

As Rufus pulled away in a drunken-love stupor, he chuckled, “Your bold nature always catches me off guard.”

Reggie turned around to pick up his cheese wheel. “I don’t know what else you expected from a thief,” he smiled.

“I suppose you’re right,” Rufus grinned, continuing his search for the large bag, now in an elated state.

* * *

Tanya looked up to the ship, whistling as Mao Mao pulled down the boarding ramp.

“Badgerclops should be here by now with all the groceries, I think,” Mao Mao said as he jumped onto the ramp and motioned for Tanya to follow.

“If not, we can just go back to my monitor abode and look for him on the screens,” Tanya laughed.

“Badgerclops, are you there?” Mao Mao called out as they ascended the ramp. “I finished the test, I think?”

“You did.”

“I finished the test!” Mao Mao stopped and turned around. “Wait, did I pass?” he whispered.

“You did.”

“I passed, too!” he shouted. “How’d I pass?” Mao Mao turned around again, staring at the tanuki with a puzzled face.

“I can answer all of your questions later. Just get on the boat, Mittens,” Tanya rolled her eyes.

“Okay,” Mao Mao grumbled. “Badgerclops, are you there?” he called out again as he reached the main deck.

His eyes widened suddenly as he tried processing the scene before him. A large bag lay slumped out in the middle of the deck, many of the fruits having rolled out onto the wood. On top of the bag, the map that Tanya had given Badgerclops lay, slightly tattered and torn.

“B-Badgerclops?!” Mao Mao rushed over, kneeling at the scene and frantically scanning everything.

“Mittens, what’s the problem?” Tanya raced to the top of the ramp, where she saw the cat slumped over the bag. “Oh no,” she muttered, before rushing to his side.

He was already hyperventilating. Tanya quickly wrapped her arms around the cat, trying to soothe him and prevent him from having a complete meltdown. “We’ll find him, okay? I’m sure that Badgerclops isn’t terribly hurt.”

“How do you know that?!” Mao Mao shouted through tears. “We don’t have anything to go off of! How do you know we’ll find him?! Do the cameras extend this far?!”

Tanya didn’t want to answer, particularly because she knew that there was no way the cameras captured any videos of the individual ships at the harbor. She didn’t want to distress him anymore.

“I can tell you who took him,” a voice hissed from inside the captain’s cabin.

Both Mao Mao and Tanya looked up in fright as the large figure emerged from the shadows with golden eyes. Slowly, Orangusnake stepped out from the doorway, staring down at the duo menacingly.

It only took Mao Mao a second before he rushed and knocked the villain down. “Orangusnake!” he yelled, brandishing his katana and lifting it up high. “This is the _ last _ time you’ll ever mess with me!”

“Ah, wait!” Orangusnake cried. “I’m not your enemy, I promise. This is what I was afraid of!” he yelled as he closed his eyes.

Tanya quickly jumped forward and held Mao Mao’s hand in place, grunting as the cat kept trying to force his blade down. “Wait, Mittens, he has something to say.”

Mao Mao’s entire body was shaking with the intent to kill. Gradually, though, tears began running down his face and his muscles relaxed. He dropped his katana on the floor and fell backward as Tanya held out her hands to catch him.

“It’s okay,” she whispered to the sobbing cat. “So,” Tanya turned her attention to Orangusnake, who was trying to compose himself after his near-death experience, “who are you and what do you know?”

“Well,” Orangusnake sat up and cleared his throat, “I am Orangusnake, leader of the Sky Pirates.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve heard that name,” Tanya interjected.

“Really? People still talk about us?” Orangusnake brought his hands together in glee.

“Not the topic at hand. Why are you on this ship and what happened?”

“Well,” Orangusnake drawled, trying to remember the details, “I was looking for Mao Mao in order to save him from his certain doom of El Dorado, but I managed to stumble across his sassy friend first. I was surprised to not see them together, so I watched from a distance as he carried a bag of food onto the ship. Suddenly, a group of scoundrels popped out of nowhere, administering a tranquilizer to the poor fellow as they dragged him off somewhere.”

“That isn’t much to work off of,” Tanya exhaled. “Do you know who these people could have been?”

“Well, they were carrying a picture of his face, but he looked more youthful and meaner. It kinda scared me, too.”

Tanya connected the dots and gasped in realization. “Those rascals,” she said sternly. “They’re trying to get his bounty.”

“Wait,” Orangusnake put a hand up and took a second to process her words. “That hero has a _ bounty _ over his head?” 

“A while ago, I was going to collect it, but I didn’t feel it was proper after seeing Mao Mao again. Looks like someone else decided otherwise,” she said, disgruntled.

“To think I could have been rich whenever I wanted to,” Orangusnake muttered to himself under his breath.

“D-Do you remember what these people look like?” Mao Mao finally spoke up, having calmed down enough to talk and participate in the conversation.

“I can’t give you a description good enough for a police sketch,” Orangusnake rubbed the back of his head, “but I would be able to spot the trio if I saw them again.” 

“We have to go now,” Mao Mao coughed as he tried standing up, swaying shakily with every movement.

“If they’re trying to collect the bounty, then they’ve most likely headed into the underground network already,” Tanya replied as she supported Mao Mao up.

“Does this mean I’m tagging along?” Orangusnake sheepishly asked as he raised a finger.

In any other case, Mao Mao would have flat out rejected and beaten the villain to tomorrow. Yet, he didn’t care for that right now. He needed to save Badgerclops, and if Orangusnake was willing to help him, then he was going to accept his help. “Yes,” he replied, slowly stretching his legs to try and regain mobility.

“Okay, good,” Orangusnake clapped, “because I don’t want to be on this boat any longer. I think the cops are gonna come soon with all the noise we made.”

“Tanya, can you lead the way?” Mao Mao asked, finally having composed himself to an acceptable amount.

Tanya nodded firmly. “There are some rules that should be said about the underground city, but we can discuss them once we get there.” With that, the three of them jumped off the boat, maneuvering through the crowd as they made their way to the entrance of the Den of Scoundrels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I be doing other things right now? Totally!  
Am I still going to write another chapter? Absolutely!  
To make matters worse, it's a slightly longer than average chapter!  
We're finally getting to some of the juicier stuff in this story, yay!  
I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I hope you guys had a lot of fun reading it.  
Thank you for all the comments, views, and kudos. My writing style isn’t where I want it to be yet, but all the support pushes me to keep improving.  
Again, thank you all, and I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter! ^ ^


	7. Underground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mao Mao, Tanya, and Orangusnake take to the underground world.

“Tada~” Tanya extended her arms to present the building before them, beaming with glee.

Orangusnake clapped and nodded his head approvingly while Mao Mao stared with a blank expression. It was a ramen shop.

“Tanya Keys…” Mao Mao began, fuming and ready to burst in anger, “I don’t know _ what _ you think you’re trying to pull, but-”

“Relax, Mittens,” Tanya put up her hands defensively. “We’re going to save the big guy, trust me.” Tanya moved forward and beckoned, saying, “Just follow me.”

Mao Mao was gripping at his cape intensely, before exhaling deeply. “Okay,” he said.

“You know, though,” Orangusnake chimed in as Tanya opened the sliding door, “a bowl of ramen sounds pretty good right now. I haven’t had the chance to eat since I’ve gotten here.”

“Wait,” Mao Mao paused and turned, “how did you know I would be in the City of Commerce?” Squinting his eyes, he moved closer. “How did you _ get _ here?”

Orangusnake gulped and moved back. “Well, you see…”

“You two coming in or what? I think we have a pretty urgent matter on our hands,” Tanya patted the door. “Or is it just me?” 

Mao Mao stared at Orangusnake for an uncomfortably long time, before turning around with a _harumph._ “We’ll discuss this later.”

With a mental sigh, Orangusnake followed behind, making sure to keep his distance from Mao Mao.

The shop was bustling, to say the least. Servers moved to and fro, carrying many bowls and glasses between tables. Paper lanterns hung from the ceiling in the place of bulbs, covering the restaurant in a red, warm hue that complemented the traditional Japanese decor. Even with the vibrant colors, there was a homely feel to the shop, a far cry from the posh and hoity-toity air that filled the French restaurant.

Tanya approached a podium where a koala stood in a dark kimono. “Hello,” the koala spoke, writing down an order and placing it on a rack to be sent down to the kitchen. “Welcome to Ame Ramen. How can I help you?”

Tanya cleared her throat and placed her hand on the counter. “Can I have a deluxe miso ramen, holding the rocks?

Orangusnake leaned into Mao Mao in confusion, whispering, “Don’t you usually wait to be seated to order?”

The hostess grabbed a new sheet of paper. “Strange request,” she said. “Who is this for?”

“Make it out to a Singleton.”

She scribbled quickly with her pen. “May I ask for the number?”

Mao Mao grumbled from behind. “What kind of convoluted ordering process?” he mumbled under his breath.

“049-87,” Tanya replied as she began to pull out a card.

The koala examined the card for a moment before smiling and stepping out from the booth. “Alrighty. Here, let me escort you to the V.I.P Lounge.”

As they maneuvered through the tables and various waiters walking around, Mao Mao continued to wear a grumpy expression, very unamused by the whole ordeal.

The koala moved past a portière, holding the curtains for the trio as Mao Mao stopped to look down the hallway. It was surprisingly long and barren, a very stark contrast from the rest of the crowded restaurant they had just been in.

“Sorry about the whole smoke and mirrors thing, Tanya,” the koala waved her hand. “You know how strict the directors get with their procedures.”

“Don’t sweat it, Lydia,” Tanya replied.

“Wait,” Mao Mao closed his eyes and put a hand to his head, “Tanya, you know this person?”

“Mittens, why do you think I brought us to this place? You didn’t really think I was ordering ramen, right?”

“Wow!” Lydia exclaimed suddenly. “Is his name _actually_ Mittens?! That is the cutest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Mao Mao’s face scrunched up. “That is_not _ my actual name. My name is-”

“Don’t worry about him,” Tanya cut the cat off short as she moved between him and the koala. “Any new developments since last week?”

“Hm…” Lydia paused for a moment, “Not much, except that there are now more higher-ups stationed about everywhere. Something weird is definitely going on down there.”

“More higher-ups?” Tanya sighed with annoyance. “God, can management get any worse?”

“Directors? Management?” Mao Mao interjected. “What kind of operation _ is _ this black market?”

“He hasn’t been here, has he?” Lydia said to Tanya as they came to a large room that housed a large, extravagant elevator.

“Nope. Don’t worry, I’ll give him a run down so that we don’t get chewed out,” Tanya said as she pressed a button to call the elevator.

“Alright. Let me know when you come back up. I gotta go back and actually tend to the restaurant now,” Lydia gave a wave, and the koala began down the hall.

Orangusnake gave a whistle as he stared at the elevator. “I don’t remember everything being _ this _ suave when I last came.”

“It’s only the entrance,” Tanya said. “As Lydia said, something weird’s going on right now. The underground doesn’t look so pretty.”

“Well,” Mao Mao huffed as the elevator doors began to open, “I don’t care much for the problems of an illegal city.” 

“Didn’t think you would,” Tanya giggled, walking over the gap onto the elevator. “Just watch what you say, Mittens. Know you’re not on your home turf now.”

Mao Mao didn’t reply, but he knew the tanuki was right. He was entering an area _dominated _ by villains, criminals, and general no-good-doers. He didn’t know the culture of this underground market, but they probably wouldn’t take kindly to a hero invading their space, a soon-to-be-legendary-one at that.

Orangusnake was the last to board. Slowly, the doors closed, and Tanya pushed a button on the side panel. With a sudden jolt, Mao Mao heard the gears begin to turn, and the elevator began its descent downward.

“Oh man,” Orangusnake rocked back and forth in the elevator, “I’m actually a little nervous.”

“Why so?” Mao Mao asked.

“It’s that feeling of visiting a place you went to in your childhood days. It’s been a second since I’ve come down here. I wonder what’s changed?”

“Well,” Tanya sat down and pulled out a list, “speaking of the place, we have some time to kill, so I’ll tell you guys some general stuff.”

“Some time to kill? How far down does this elevator go?” Mao Mao said with a groan.

“It doesn’t really travel down,” Orangusnake replied. “After a bit, it starts traveling horizontally. It’s kinda cool.” 

“Mhm. So get cozy,” Tanya said as she pulled out a blanket.

Orangusnake sat down gently, crossing his legs. He and Tanya stared at Mao Mao for a bit, who was still standing with a stern expression. After a bit, he scoffed and plopped down clumsily.

“Alright,” Tanya began, finally satisfied. “Contrary to what people say, or what cat man over here thinks about the city, it’s not filled with radical extremist monsters that have committed nothing but sins over their entire lifetime. I use the name ‘Den of Scoundrels’ because I think it’s more fitting. Most people that wander around this place are just low thugs or business guys that need something they can’t find in the above market.

“That doesn’t mean everything is pish-posh fine and dandy, though. It’s still a place for criminals, so you have to stay on your guard. However, the Den of Scoundrels gets its traffic in trying to be the most secure underground market there is. They have a lot of guards here, weird enough. The City of Commerce and the Den of Scoundrels are effectively mirrors of each other. They share the same organizers and leaders, so sorry, Mittens. You were basically already participating in an illegal market.”

Mao Mao hissed, startling Orangusnake and causing him to scooch to the other corner of the elevator.

“But there actually have been more guards lately. It’s really annoying since all the guards come from the upper echelon. They all carry themselves as if we live in the eighteenth century and speak as if they’re characters in a Shakespearean play.”

“I don’t know what that is,” Mao Mao commented.

“Figures. We’ve already discussed your,” Tanya coughed, “social status before. Don’t worry about it. Just talk to them in a really convoluted way, throwing in the occasional archaic word. They’ll recognize you as a person at that point. With finding the big badger, he’s probably just been dropped off at the station.”

Mao Mao looked at Tanya incredulously. “The illegal marketplace has a _ police _ station, really?”

Tanya laughed. “Yeah, but it’s more of a holding area before any offenders are taken to wherever they need to be or sold off into, er, slavery.”

“Slavery,” Mao Mao repeated.

“Yeah, it’s still a black market. Sorry, Mittens,” Tanya whistled. “Your partner wouldn’t be sold off at an auction, though, don’t fret. They don’t do that with bounties.”

A part of Mao Mao was relived. At least he didn’t have to worry about that.

_ But Adorabat. _

There came a sudden screech as the gears of the elevator came to a halt. As the elevator settled, everyone stood up. Mao Mao looked to the doors with a certain unease, not sure what to expect on the outside.

“Just follow my lead, and you’ll be okay,” Tanya winked as the doors unlocked.

A dim light shone in through the crack of the door as the elevator opened. Mao Mao looked out from behind Tanya, seeing a small corridor that had another door at its end. Between them and the exit, a wolf in a ridiculously motley uniform stood in the way.

“Great,” Tanya grumbled as she stepped out, and the wolf turned around.

“Halt, travelers from above!” he bellowed. “What bringest ye to the city below?”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Mao Mao deadpanned.

“Just play along, Mittens,” Tanya whispered behind her before walking towards the guard. “Sire, hast thou no knowledge of my position? I am the overseer from above. Surely, thee below hath been educated on this matter, yes?”

The wolf looked Tanya up and down before scoffing, “Ill-fitting that the position be granted upon a woman.”

Tanya laughed. “Ill-fitting, you say? Speaks thee with a position that hast thou overseeing a hall with nary a soul.”

The wolf gasped and turned back. “Sharp words expelled from a dull mind,” he continued.

“Should thee mind be sharp, I would rather be dull,” Tanya sneered back.

“This is ridiculous,” Mao Mao commented.

“I don’t know. I think it’s neat,” Orangusnake nodded.

Upon hearing Mao Mao and Orangusnake talk, the wolf turned around and gagged. “I may recognize thy being upon thy position and language, but what _ ruffians _ go about behind thee, speakest in horrid dialects, that thou decided they were fit to travel through our wonderous citadel?”

“I’m sorry?” Mao Mao said.

“Mittens, play along,” Tanya said through gritted teeth, pushing the cat forward.

“Thy title, now,” the wolf commanded as Mao Mao tried regaining his balance.

“Uh, er, um,” Mao Mao stammered. “I am, uh, Mao Mao, the, er, second?”

Tanya giggled from behind.

“Second, you say?” the wolf examined Mao Mao up and down carefully. “If this is the successor, I’m afraid to see the state of thy father.”

“Heh, you and me both buddy,” Mao Mao rolled his eyes with a half-laugh.

“Troglodyte that pourest putrid sounds on my soul!” the wolf yelled, covering his ears.

“Oh, uh,” Mao Mao stepped back, “thee and me, comrade?”

“Thy comprehension of the English lexicon and vernacular make thou sound as if thou were raised in a barn during the Dark Ages, but it shall do,” the wolf dismissed.

Mao Mao growled. “Look who’s talking,” he muttered under his breath.

“As for,” the wolf flimsily gesticulated at Orangusnake, who was merely watching the entire scenario from behind, “that being, what is his title?”

“Orangusnake from the Sky Pirates, sire,” Orangusnake bowed. “Forgive mine obtuse fellow. His comprehension of anything always lacketh behind.”

“Well, it should be a sweet respite to see two _ mildly _ educated fellows entering the haven,” the wolf hummed, walking back towards the door.

“I’m going to kill everyone in this room,” Mao Mao growled again.

Pulling out a ring, the wolf jammed a key into the door, before turning it and pushing the door open. “Make way, travelers, and report of suspicious activity ye may see.”

Tanya and Orangusnake moved forward, nodding as they passed the wolf. Mao Mao glared at the wolf the entire time as he passed through the doorway before the wolf hastily closed the door to avoid eye contact.

“Okay, where are…” Mao Mao’s voice died in this throat as his eyes returned from the door to the sight before him.

It was a broad street, similar to that in the City of Commerce. However, instead of bustling pedestrians going back and forth between stalls, the street was lined with buildings upon buildings, neon lights illuminating their fronts as strings ran between them, upholding lanterns that dimly lit the empty road below. There was no sunlight, the sky composed of the various ridges and spikes of the cave where the market was located.

“Wow,” Orangusnake moved forward and pointed, “they added neon signs!” 

“Mittens,” Tanya extended a hand as the cat slowly walked by, “welcome to the Den of Scoundrels.”

“This is…” Mao Mao gulped, “not what I was expecting.”

“What,” Tanya elbowed him as she moved forward, “were you expecting some sort of a battlefield that served as a free-for-all?”

“Would it be bad if I said kinda?” Mao Mao shrugged.

Orangusnake was already down the road, marveling at all the signs. “Memories are hitting me of the last time I visited this place with my crew.” After a moment, he paused a put a finger to his chin. “I wonder how they’re doing now?”

* * *

Ratarang slammed against the wall, quickly getting up and turning the corner as he panted. Unfortunately, it was another dead end.

“No!” he cried, his hands against the wall as he saw the fire creep around the corner. “Ma, not like ‘dis!”

Meanwhile, King Snugglemagne laughed as he lazed about in his chair, watching a monitor as the icons representing the Sky Pirates moved across the maze. “Oh, my stars,” he said through chuckles, “labyrinths are always so much fun. Isn’t that right, Quinton?”

The small bird only sighed, preparing a bucket of water.

* * *

“We don’t have much time to waste,” Mao Mao said, stretching his legs. “Where is the station where Badgerclops is being held?”

“Well,” Tanya hummed, looking at the buildings to see their names, “it looks likes we’re in the foreign sector, so we have a bit of way to travel.”

Mao Mao groaned. “Is there not a fast transit method here?”

“Nope.”

Orangusnake walked back to meet with the tanuki and cat. “Actually, the last time I came, I knew of certain back alley waterways that could lead you to another sector in a flash. I don’t know if they still exist, but they may be worth a shot.”

“I’ve never heard of any waterways,” Tanya furrowed her brow. 

“They were super secret. Not many people got access to them,” Orangusnake puffed out his chest in half-pride.

“If it’s there or not, it’s worth a shot,” Mao Mao said as he began walking. “Lead the way, Orangusnake.”

As they made their way down the sidewalk, Mao Mao thought about Badgerclops. It had been a while now since they had been separated. He wondered how Badgerclops would react to seeing him again. He wondered if Badgerclops had missed him as much as Mao Mao had.

_ ‘I love you, Badgerclops.’ _

The words hit Mao Mao like a freight train as they continued to run down the dark road. In the worry of trying to find Badgerclops, Mao Mao had utterly forgotten about the conversation he had with Tanya and Rufus. What would he say? What was he going to do when he saw Badgerclops? 

What would he do?

“Hey, Mittens!” Tanya called, snapping Mao Mao back to reality. “Keep up, you’re falling behind.”

“R-Right,” Mao Mao replied, picking up his speed to catch up.

As they turned a corner, Mao Mao continued to survey the area. “Why are the streets so empty? Where are all the people?”

Tanya pulled out a pocketwatch and hummed for a moment. “It’s prime time for business. All people that want to trade or buy something here are inside the buildings.” 

They finally arrived at a narrow valley sandwiched between two buildings, one selling banned foods and the other grotesque weaponry.

“The path is still here,” Orangusnake said, moving aside so that Tanya and Mao Mao could peer in, “so there’s still some chance the actual waterway is there.”

“That’s not wide at all,” Mao Mao commented.

“Yeah,” Orangusnake chuckled nervously. “It might take me some time to get through, so you and Tanya should be the first ones to go through.”

Mao Mao looked to the snake, who was sheepishly grinning. A part of him wondered if Orangusnake simply didn’t want to be the first down the narrow alley. With a sigh, Mao Mao stepped forward, followed by Tanya.

The alley was unusually clean, a surprise to Mao Mao, given the entire environment and its inhabitors. As they came to a T-intersection, Orangusnake called directions from behind. There were a few times where Mao Mao had to pull out his hands to figure out his directions. He had been raised on cardinal directions, of course. After a few more turns, Mao Mao saw the wall of the cave loom above them. An entrance to another passage lay at the end of the alley, though it was completely dark. 

Slowly, all three of them made their way through the entrance. Tanya pulled out a glow stick, handing one to Mao Mao and Orangusnake as he struggled to get his torso past the entrance. Mao Mao waved the light around, seeing how distraught the passage looked. It looked as if it hadn’t been used in a couple of years.

“Well,” Orangusnake said with a huff, finally freed from the confines of the entrance, “this place has seen better days.”

“This is the waterway?” Mao Mao asked. “Where’s the water?”

The three of them fell silent, waiting for some other noise to make itself known in the cavern.

“I don’t hear anything…” Orangusnake drawled as he moved forward to where he remembers it being. Mao Mao and Tanya followed him down some stairs, being careful not to touch any crumbling parts.

“Oh, no!” Orangusnake exclaimed as he waved the glowstick to the channel below. Mao Mao looked down and saw a massive drain connected to a ditch that ran on farther than he could see. It was empty, long void of any water.

“That’s a bummer,” Tanya sighed. “Looks like people just forgot about this.”

“We can still run down the ditch, right?” Mao Mao said, kneeling down to look closer at the channel. It looked revolting, to say the least, with grime and exotic bugs running up and down its walls. “Maybe?” he repeated with a face of grief.

“Halt!” a voice called out from the entrance. Mao Mao, Tanya, and Orangusnake quickly looked up to see a flashlight illuminate the upper ridges of the cavern.

“Aw hell,” Tanya clicked her tongue. “Ye olde guards didn’t like what we were doing.”

Mao Mao leaped from his position into the ditch, feeling his paws squish the grime below. “Now or never!” he yelled as he raced down the dried waterway.

Tanya laughed and quickly followed. “Never made you out as one to run from the law, Mittens!”

Orangusnake was the final one to make his way down the channel, barely missing the beam of light as it scanned over the area. “It’s gross, but it’s just like home!”

“Get back here! Ye shall be punished heavily for running from mine authority!” the guard yelled down the tunnel, but the trio was already far on their way towards the other sectors.

* * *

A pink crayon slowly rolled off in the distance. Noticing this, a blue wing quickly stopped its escape, returning it to the paper.

Adorabat sighed as she looked at her drawing of Mao Mao, Badgerclops, and herself. Putting it in the pile of other pictures she had made, Adorabat rolled over on the fuzzy carpet and stared up at the ceiling. It was light blue, with various patches of white that were supposed to represent clouds with rainbows in between.

“I don’t get this whole daycare thing,” Adorabat cried to the guard, a burly fox that kept watch on her, in the corner of the room

“Your parent dropped you off, and we take care of you,” he replied.

“Okay, but, like,” Adorabat got up and began walking toward the pile of stuffed animals. “I don’t remember Mao Mao saying he was going anywhere. Also, why’d he take me when I was sleeping?”

“Sometimes parents don’t want kids to know what they’re doing,” the fox replied again.

Adorabat was already wrestling a teddy bear. In one quick movement, she bit in tore the head off of the bear, stuffing flying everywhere. With a discontented sigh, she discarded the head into the pile of other stuffed animals she had decapitated. “So,” Adorabat flew close to the fox, “where’d you get all those scars from?” she asked as followed the slash marks across his face.

“I take care of kids,” he replied nonchalantly.

“Is that why you’re so buff?” Adorabat asked, poking at his chest. 

This went on for a few seconds before the fox gently grabbed her by the sides to place her down. “Yes,” he said.

“Hmm…” Adorabat narrowed her eyes for a second. “Okay!” she exclaimed.

“It’s almost time for lunch,” the fox said, grabbing a ring of keys that hung from a belt loop.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” Adorabat jumped up, flying around the room, excited for a few moments as she waited for the guard to open the door.

As the door open, Adorabat flew out into the room. It was a simple room containing a few small tables with plastic chairs. Other doors that were similar to Adorabat’s room lined the wall. One by one, the doors slowly opened, and other kids started walking out from their rooms and sitting down at tables. Adorabat took a seat next to a new friend she had met at breakfast.

“So,” Adorabat whispered to the girl as she settled in, “what were you talking about this morning?”

The koala looked around to see the guards busy gathering trays for the kids. “I don’t remember being dropped off here. I was just sitting in my house, and then I woke up here.”

“Yeah! I don’t know what this daycare is, but I don’t trust it one bit,” Adorabat nodded. “Even if they have really good juice boxes.”

A tray was placed in front of Adorabat and her friend. An apple, banana, a bowl of cereal, and a juice box sat on the metal, looking rather unappetizing.

“Man, this is even worse than skewl…” Adorabat whimpered with a sigh as she took the juice box and stabbed a straw through its top.

“Maybe we can plan an escape,” the koala suggested, causing Adorabat to pause in the middle of drinking her juice.

Swiftly, Adorabat put her wings to the koala’s cheeks. “Camellia,” she said in a low tone, “your mind is amazing!” After sipping on her juice box for a bit, Adorabat began to ponder again. “We don’t have much time during lunch to make an escape plan, but we get another time to reconvene at dinner.”

“We can make up plans to escape in the meantime,” Camellia said as she bit into her apple.

“How are you so smart?” Adorabat asked with fascination.

Camellia looked at her apple for a bit. “My mom does this stuff all the time.” 

Adorabat jumped up. “That is so cool!”

“Hey!” a guard yelled from a wall, “no jumping or yelling!”

“Sorry!” she yelled back, taking a seat again. “Okay,” Adorabat whispered, “so we come up with ways to escape, and then we set our plans in motion at dinnertime.”

Camellia nodded in response, peeling back her banana and taking a large bite.

“Another amazing suggestion,” Adorabat smiled, grabbing her spoon to feverishly devour the generic brand cereal.

* * *

“God, this is disgusting,” Mao Mao coughed as he continued to try and shake off the grime from his paws.

“Beats being sold into slavery, I’ll tell you that,” Tanya used a wipe to quickly clean her soles.

“Nothing new here. I’ve stepped in worse in the garbage dump,” Orangusnake looked around the cavern with the glowstick.

They had managed to outrun the guard, but there was no doubt that there were now more patrolling officers outside.

“We’ll have to be more careful moving about now,” Tanya stretched upward. “The guard may have not seen our faces, but they can probably recognize our voice now.”

“Great,” Mao Mao said, pulling his cheeks downward, “more stuff to make our lives even harder.”

“When has it ever been easy, Mittens?” Tanya asked as she moved towards the exit of the chamber. “Welcome to a villain’s life.”

“As if I wanted this!” Mao Mao cried.

Peering out, the alley wasn’t as narrow as the one in the foreign sector, but it looked less tidy and clean than its predecessor. The trio made their way through again, Orangusnake calling directions with Mao Mao still fumbling every now and then. 

“There it is,” Tanya whispered from behind as she saw the building come into view. It was large and imposing, seeming more of a central headquarters than a station to hold wrongdoers.

“Watch out,” Mao Mao said, moving back slightly as a guard on a cellphone walked into view, completely unaware of the three beings in the alley. He looked up for a moment, sneezed, then continued walking.

“What do we do now?” Orangusnake asked. “I’m a little too husky to sneak by,” he whimpered.

Tanya gave a small laugh, causing Mao Mao to turn around. “You know,” she pulled out a leaf, “I could always put you guys in a bag and make it disappear.”

“What?!” Mao Mao took a step back. “Why would I want to do that? Is that even safe?”

“You’ve seen me do it before. I did it to your badger friend, and he came out fine.”

Mao Mao leaned against the wall and groaned. Nothing today was turning out easy. “You know what? Okay, fine,” he put his hands up in defeat. “I just don’t want to waste any more time.”

Tanya smiled, then with a poof, a bag came into existence. “Hop in,” she said.

Mao Mao quickly moved into the bag, grumpy that he had to reduce himself to baggage. A foot kicked him in the face, and he emitted a small yelp.

“Whoops. Sorry there,” Orangusnake said as he slowly moved into the bag, pushing Mao Mao farther and father against its side. As he nestled in, he looked around the brown sack, his gaze landing of Mao Mao’s very narrow and irritated eyes. “So, uh,” he stammered, “how has your day been?”

“Don’t talk to me.”

“Right.”

“Hope you guys are ready,” Tanya said, “it’s about to get a little weird. I’ll call you back out when I’m through.”

Mao Mao processed her words for a second. “What do you mean it’s about to get-”

Suddenly, everything vanished. Mao Mao couldn’t feel the bag hugging him nor see Orangusnake tapping his fingers together awkwardly. Every sensation had all at once disappeared.

Mao Mao couldn’t even feel himself anymore. He didn’t even know if he was still alive.

It was as if he had just vanished from existence, but at the same time, he felt like he was experiencing everything all at once.

He saw his paw appear, and in a swift moment, Mao Mao felt himself appear in the black void. He wasn’t sure how he did it, maybe it was just the strength of his will, but he slowly stretched his arms before him, feeling himself spin around aimlessly.

“Just what I needed,” he managed to vocalize, “more existentialism.” 

And so he spun around aimlessly. He wasn’t sure how long it had been since he was transported to this realm, but it felt like an eternity in a second. With no other stimulations, he was simply left to his thoughts.

A terrible thing for Mao Mao to be left to, really.

Insecurities and worries invaded his core. He swore he saw his fur turn blue, his body become cold, in that instant. It was frightening. Everything was frightening. He didn’t know if they’d be able to find Badgerclops. Even if they did, how would they rescue him from a heavily guarded facility in a city loaded with guards stationed left and right? And he needed Badgerclops to save Adorabat, but he had no clue where to look now. They were in the Circle of Demons, but the entire market was so large. He wasn’t even sure if Adorabat was still here. What if she had already been sold off to some vicious criminal. Would Adorabat become a criminal too and seek revenge on him for abandoning her? Would he just accept defeat in that scenario?

Would he?

Mao Mao felt a hand being placed on his shoulder. Not soon after, he was pulled into a tight embrace. Quickly, Mao Mao looked up to see an image of Badgerclops smiling down.

“B-Badgerclops?” he stammered out. “What are…” Mao Mao’s voice died in his throat. Slowly, he slipped out of the badger’s embrace and looked up to him. “You’re not real,” he said, slightly deflated.

The shadow shook its head. It was partly translucent, and when Mao Mao reached out to take its hand, he merely phased through. Mao Mao pulled his hand back as if he had been burned and simply stared at it. After a moment, Mao Mao turned away and moved into a fetal position. “What’s the point?” he muttered.

What was the point? After he found Badgerclops and Adorabat, what would happen? What if Badgerclops just left because he found Mao Mao’s feelings revolting? Would Adorabat still look up to him after finding out the truth, or would she look the other way forever?

The hand fell on his shoulder again. Mao Mao looked up and saw Badgerclops take a seat next to him. They were no longer in an empty, black void. Mao Mao put his hand down and felt the wooden porch creak slightly as he pressed into it. Looking out, he saw the Pure Heart Valley again. There it stood still, a blue hue washing over the scene in serene silence.

It was just like that night. That night before they lost Adorabat.

“Mao Mao,” the phantom spoke, “what do you want?”

The cat looked up, seeing Badgerclops continue to stare out over the grass. Mao Mao wasn’t sure if he really had an answer. He never felt he deserved anything, so why would he want anything, either? Mao Mao opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He wasn’t sure if he had lost his voice, or if it never had existed in the first place.

Mao Mao felt the phantom take his hand. Looking over, Badgerclops slowly interlocked his fingers with Mao Mao’s. He still hadn’t looked away from the valley, but they were holding hands now. Gradually, the phantom moved closer. Even if it wasn’t real, it radiated a warmth Mao Mao knew too well.

“You know what you want,” the phantom said.

Mao Mao stared at their hands interlocked, before looking out at the valley again.

“You know what you want, and it’s been something you’ve wanted for a while. Why do you deny yourself of any luxuries of living? Happiness? Love? For whom do you deny them? Certainly not yourself, because the static just returns and returns and returns.

“I am not real, and you know this. This conversation is not real, and you’ll be alone once again at the end of it all. Yet, these feelings and thoughts are the most real things to you now. Right now, they’re all you have. And of all of them, I am the most real.”

Mao Mao looked again, and Badgerclops wasn’t translucent anymore. The moonlight shined on him in shades of silver, white, and blue. It was almost past real, an ethereal presence before him.

“Can’t you feel it?” Badgerclops asked. He finally turned towards Mao Mao, bringing their hands up and moving closer. “If you can’t, you just have to believe.” Badgerclops reaffirmed his grip and squeeze Mao Mao’s hand.

It was the most real sensation he had ever felt.

Mao Mao came tumbling out of the bag, blinded by a white light as he quickly moved his hand to shield his eyes. As his eyes slowly adjusted, he saw the grey concrete which he lay on.

“W-Where are we?” he asked before he saw two boots make their way toward him, stopping a step away. Looking up, Mao Mao made eye contact with a very furious, stern bear.

“So,” Tanya laughed, patting Orangusnake on the head to wake him up, “their security might have been a little more _ secure _ than I imagined.”

Mao Mao looked past the bear’s legs to see large, thick iron bars running up and down the cell.

Looks like Badgerclops wasn’t the only one captured anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! \o/  
Wow! Thank you all so much for waiting an entire month for this chapter. I'm happy to have it out finally.  
We're almost to the big reveal, so jazz hands!  
Now that December 1st is behind me, I should be able to return to a bi-monthly schedule of updates, so stay tuned.  
Once again, thank you for all the positive feedback and comments. Every single one means the world to me. ; v ;  
I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter. ^ ^


	8. Denial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mao Mao, Tanya, and Orangusnake have to wait for the interrogation to start.

The grizzly bear looked to Mao Mao, Tanya, and Orangusnake intensely, as if he were registering the very details of their faces and bodies, down to each strand of hair. "So, you three are the ones running around the market, raising a commotion?" he asked as his gaze returned to Mao Mao.

"That is, uh," he coughed, "a possibility, yes?" Mao Mao replied sheepishly.

"Not doing the whole 'Ye Olde Guard' thing like the others?" Tanya asked with a grin.

"I'm not that stupid," the bear said plainly. "And," he moved towards Tanya, causing her to lean back as he loomed over her, "I don't think you're in much of a position to mock me."

"Maybe not," Tanya chuckled, "but what's with all the hostility, Gil?"

Gil stepped back and walked towards the iron bars, his steps steady and firm as he crossed the room. "Tanya, you know that I adore you and your work. You're one of the finer villains in the underground." The bear swiftly turned around. "But you know that we have to keep our guard up now. Any suspicious activity is to be investigated."

"But why?" Orangusnake finally chimed in. "It's not like the underground to be this protective."

"That is not your place to know," Gil said. "Right now, you are all being detained under suspicion of engaging in immoral activity."

"Isn't everything in this place immoral?" Mao Mao muttered under his breath.

"You'll be taken into a room to undergo some private questioning with a higher up," Gil continued as he opened the cell. "For your sake, I hope you all tell the truth." Locking the door behind him, the bear's gaze lingered on Tanya for a moment, before he walked away.

After a brief moment of silence, Orangusnake coughed. "Well," he whistled, "this is a dandy situation, right?"

"I don't understand how you could get caught," Mao Mao scoffed as he turned to Tanya. "You can literally 'poof' somewhere else!"

Tanya put a hand to her temple and sighed. "It's not teleportation, Mittens. Apparently, they've advanced their security systems enough to detect invisibility now."

Mao Mao's face scrunched up, with nowhere to direct his frustration, he yelled and slammed his head into the floor. "Now what are we supposed to do?" he said, muffled by the concrete. "Can't you, like," he aimlessly gestured in the air, "just make an escape?"

Orangusnake scooted closer. "Getting into more trouble with the biggest criminal network would probably be the worst thing to do right now."

"Hard to be a bounty hunter if you are a bounty," Tanya commented as she looked at her fingers.

Mao Mao rolled over and stared blankly at the ceiling. "So, we just wait."

Tanya shrugged and lay down beside. "Not much else to do."

Orangusnake didn't know if he was invited to the party, but he completed the triangle as he put his back to the grey floor. So they lay on the floor, staring up at the ceiling and its blinding light. There was nothing particularly unusual about the ceiling, save for the occasional crack you could follow from one end of the room to the other, nor was there any ambiance from other cellmates in the prison, primarily because of its design to seclude cells entirely from one another.

They were just breathing, staring, and wondering.

And Mao Mao had thoughts. Fuzzy thoughts, jumbling together. Muddling everything. Hazy everything.

Mao Mao felt a hand touch his own, and he looked to Tanya. She didn't bother turning, looking at the ceiling still. It was at that moment that Mao Mao felt a tear finally break free, running down his face.

Tanya didn't even need to look in his direction to know he was hurting. It was just pressure, stress, building from everything. Mao Mao didn't have his outlet, so it was the best she could do for him.

Mao Mao looked back to the ceiling. He only new recognized that he had been tearing up. He couldn't do anything about it, though. Even with Tanya placing her hand on top of his to comfort him, there was still a drone of static in the back.

_ That damned radio turned up in the back. Turning the knob to drown him out. _

Just a drone of static that no one but _ he _ could make disappear.

Mao Mao sniffled, missing him.

* * *

"So, one of these doors has to lead into a hallway!" Adorabat whispered as she munched on a hotdog. "They all look the same, but otherwise, the guards wouldn't be able to get out."

Camellia nodded, looking at the doors around the cafeteria. "Do you remember which ones other kids came out of?"

Adorabat looked around. There weren't many other kids, thankfully. They were a diverse lot, different species with almost nothing in common, save for the fact they all looked around Adorabat's age and _ quite _ intimidated.

"Yeah," she nodded. "It's, uh," Adorabat quickly pointed to three doors, "one of those three?"

"Then it's that one," Camellia pointed to one near a corner. "I know it wasn't the other two."

"Awesome," Adorabat giggled, taking a sip of her juice box. Slamming it down gently, she moved closer and smirked. "The guard people are about to go on break, and I've been prepping some stuff to make a _ clean _ getaway."

Camellia frowned. "I didn't really come up with too good of a plan," she mumbled.

"Aw, that's okay!" Adorabat said as she reached over and patted the koala's shoulder. "When I get out, I can call for Mao Mao and Badgerclops to investigate and rescue everyone. Mao Mao loves destabilizing the nefarious activities of the immoral, and Badgerclops totally likes to work!"

"They sound nice," Camellia said, smiling again.

"Alright, kids," a guard yelled as he stepped out from one of the walls, "dinner is over. Get to your rooms."

Adorabat winked at Camellia as everyone was escorted back into their room. Adorabat swiftly dove into her pile of dismembered plushies, pieces and stuffing flying around.

"Alright," the fox stared from the door, giving the room a quick scan, "I'll be back in a moment. Don't do anything bad." With that, he closed the door and locked it from the other side.

Adorabat waited for a few seconds to see if the door would open again before quickly getting to work, sorting the limbs of the stuffed animals into different categories. As soon as all the parts had been put into their respective piles, she began sifting through them, meticulously looking at each piece and imagining her final product in her head. She didn't have much yellow, but maybe if she turned her agglomeration around, she wouldn't need it. More blue here, a little more there. Stick a crayon in the stuffing, maybe pull out a string to loop around and secure them together. Adding a patch of felt here, mashing it between the pieces so it won't fall out. Maybe, not working terribly well, but functional enough.

Adorabat stepped back and wiped her brow. With all of the dismembered parts, she had assembled a life-sized effigy of herself. Was it convincing? Adorabat narrowed her eyes for a second, then flew to the door, looking back at the doll again. Convincing enough from the door. It would be enough time for her to sneak past, at least.

Adorabat flapped her wings and soared up, waiting high on the ceiling, looking down at the door fervently for any sort of motion.

_ Click. _

Adorabat's eyes went wide as the door creaked open. The large fox peered in for a second, just wide enough for Adorabat to slip underneath the frame.

"Already asleep, huh?" the guard said to himself as the stuffed animal Adorabat had put together lay face first in one of the piles.

Adorabat watched from the ceiling as he closed and locked the door again, waving to another guard as they proceeded to move to the outside hallway. Out of carelessness, or simply because they didn't believe any child would be able to escape their room, the guards left the door open.

The small bat looked around for a moment and, after confirming the coast was clear, moved through the door.

Even though she was moving around on the ceiling, Adorabat noticed that there weren't any cameras to be found. She was prepared to have to dodge surveillance systems, but such didn't seem to be the case. Not like she was complaining. Well, possibly a_ little _. Would have made for a cooler getaway story that she could have told Mao Mao and Badgerclops. Most of the guards on the ground seemed to be going their separate ways, too, as if closing up for the night. Only a few were really patrolling the area below, if occasionally looking left and right then proceeding to continue reading a newspaper could be considered patrolling.

Adorabat shook her head. If she lost concentration for even a moment, even a shoddy security system could catch her. She would have to focus, even if this was on the easier side of escapes. She'd just have to spruce her story up a bit when she found Mao Mao. Nothing wrong with a little fib.

* * *

"Tanya," a voice called as they approached the cell, causing the trio to turn their heads, "you're being questioned first. Don't leave anything here; you will not be returning to this room."

"Oh?" The tanuki stood up and brushed some dust off. "Where will I be going, then?"

"Depends on how the interview goes," Gil replied, opening the cell door.

"Hm…" the tanuki hummed for a moment, before shrugging. "I'll see you two on the flip side," she looked back with a wink and left with the grizzly bear down the hallway.

More silence, again. Orangusnake twiddled his thumbs. They still hadn't moved from the floor, but he'd have to be an absolute idiot not to notice how _ unstable _ the sheriff seemed right now. He probably thought it best not to spark up any conversation, but at the same time, the silence was beginning to get awkward. Actually, it had probably been awkward for a while. There wasn't anything in common for them to discuss. Or was there, possibly? They could talk about past battles, but Orangusnake didn't want to hurt his already fragile ego by reliving every time the sheriff and his partners have demolished his crew. Maybe the sheriff read occasionally? "Favorite genre?" is a typical question in those "personality quizzes," right? Surely, they had to be good conversation starters. He should start less ambitiously, though. "Favorite color?" would probably work, then yet again, he was pretty sure that-

"So, how'd you find me?"

Mao Mao's voice cut through the air, stopping Orangusnake's train of thought abruptly. The question that he had avoided before had come up again, and there was no easy way to escape it now unless he acted quickly.

"W-What's your favorite color?" Orangusnake's words stumbled out.

Mao Mao immediately leaped and placed his sword against the snake's neck, eliciting a yelp. As Orangusnake looked into the sheriff's eyes, he could tell that the cat would not hesitate to push the blade into his throat.

"Y-Your king told me! I was worried you'd get killed, so your king authorized me to take aerocycle to find you!" Orangusnake yelled quickly, afraid that the sheriff would silence him eternally at any moment.

After a brief pause, Orangusnake felt the pressure on his neck slowly lessen. Opening his eyes, he looked to see the sheriff lost in thought, slightly confused. "Why were you worried?"

Orangusnake sat up. "Well, you _ are _ my arch-nemesis. I can't just let some random hooligan take you down."

The words seemed to resonate with something inside Mao Mao because the cat put the sword back in its sheath. "Why didn't you just take the Ruby Pure Heat? I doubt the king nor Quinton would have put up much of a fight."

"We were met with confetti at the door. If anything, it felt like a 'welcome home' party rather than an attempt to protect the king."

Mao Mao groaned, "Of course he would. Typical." The tension in the room was finally beginning to dissipate.

"Plus," Orangusnake continued, "what's the point of stealing a legendary gem if not in a legendary way against a legendary opponent?"

Mao Mao smiled lightly, his shoulder finally having relaxed a bit. "Thanks, Orangusnake." As soon as the words left Mao Mao's mouth, he glared and growled. "If you tell _ anyone _ I told you those words, I _ will _ end you and your entire crew."

"Of course, of course," Orangusnake replied with sweat running down his temple. Sadly, he wouldn't be able to tell his crew because they can never seem to hold their tongues, but it was a nice accomplishment to celebrate for himself alone.

"You really do have to wonder what's happening down at the kingdom, though," Mao Mao said, examining the bars.

* * *

"And so," King Snugglemagne sniffled as he brought a handkerchief to his eye, wiping a tear away, "that's my spiel on the current state of the wombat crisis."

"Wow, that was moving!" Ramaraffe clapped as the king handed his handkerchief to Quinton.

"It is a sad situation, really," King Snugglemage shook his head. "It keeps me up at night sometimes."

"Usually, it's ma hunger that keeps me up. S'always cold when ya hungry," Ratarang spoke as he swung his legs back and forth on the couch.

"Ha, imagine that," King Snugglemange laughed as he took another bite out of a plum. "Quinton, get me my therapy notepad," King Snugglemagne extended his hand, bringing it back to his chest as soon as Quinton had placed the beaten yellow pad into his hand. "What about your 'hunger' is troubling you?"

"Just hungry, y' could gimmie a grape," Ratarang looked at the platter of food King Snugglemagne had sitting on the table in front of them, which both Ramaraffe and Boss Hosstrich were intensely eyeing.

The lion hummed as he tapped his pen lightly against his chin. "I think you're suffering from perpetual loneliness. We can work on that first."

Quinton sighed as he prepared a box of tissues. The king was projecting again.

* * *

"Yeah," Orangusnake nodded, "I believe in my crew, not necessarily their competence, though," he finished with a cough.

"I just want to go home," Mao Mao said as he tapped the floor. "I, uh, never realized how much I would miss the valley, going around and doing regular hero activities. This entire rescue mission has been, uh, tiring, to say the least."

"As a legendary hero, wouldn't this be a regular occurrence, though?" Orangusnake questioned.

Mao Mao froze up. He had never actually thought about that, but this was the largest adventure he had ever had. Most heroic one, too, and it was so _ tiring _. The cat looked down to his hands, unsure of what to do. Was this what legendary heroes did? Fight restlessly, always in dangerous situations where the outcome could be fatal at any second?

It sounded perfect. It was the life Mao Mao had always wanted. Yet, it was so _ tiring _ . So _ lonely _ . Why? He was living his childhood dream, but it was more a nightmare come to life than a dream come true. He missed having his small deputy beside him, eager to learn the ways of a hero. He missed having his _ larger _ deputy around, keeping him calm whenever his emotions blinded him, keeping the static away.

Mao Mao just stared at the bars, watching the door and waiting for the next person to be called.

* * *

As Tanya walked down the corridor, she took note of how fancy the place was outside of the prison cells. The hallway was mostly bare in terms of furniture, but if the red carpet on the floor and occasional pillars painted gold down the halls suggested anything about the rest of the place, Tanya could probably make a pretty penny by ransacking a few rooms of the building.

"No light conversation while we walk, Gil?" Tanya swayed back and forth.

"Something troubling is happening, Tanya," the bear began. "I'm sure you've noticed it, too."

Tanya rolled her eyes. "I meant more like, 'how's the weather?,' not 'here's the climate of our politics!'"

"Even organized crime has its morals. Some things are just off-limits. Otherwise, they'd cause too much commotion amongst the hoi polloi to keep a city of wealth going," he continued. "Recently, the police above have been getting many 'missing persons' reports."

Tanya's ears perked up. "If people are collecting bounties, nothing strange about that, no?"

"That's true," Gil turned around with a grim expression, "but these are children missing reports."

"Children?" Tanya stopped and repeated, incredulous.

"Bounties aren't placed on children. We don't allow for trafficking of any kind with children. Most people we sell into trafficking are capable of working for buyers, like Amazon or Wal-Mart."

"Big corporations, our largest buyers for underpaid labor," Tanya sighed.

"I don't think you or any of your friends, really, are responsible for this whole anomaly, but we have protocols to follow. Just answer honestly, and you'll all be free to do whatever you were doing, sneaking around the building and such."

"Well, actually, we're here because we're also searching for a-"

"Here's the door," Gil abruptly cut the tanuki off. "I don't know who's interrogating, but the other guards said it was someone good. Good luck," he said, unlocking the door and opening it for Tanya.

Tanya stared into the darkness, seeing another hallway, albeit much shorter. Slowly, she proceeded forward, watching as the door behind her closed and locked. She wasn't really sure what to expect of her questioner. It'd probably be some other higher up in the organization, possibly even higher than Gil.

There was a room at the end of the hall with a single light hanging above, flickering every now and then. It was a stark contrast from the previous corridor she had just been walking with Gil, bland concrete walls cracked in various spots. A sole chair was placed for Tanya to sit in. Across from it, a large leather chair was placed, with a rather imposing figure seated. The man was turned around, so Tanya couldn't make out any solid details, but the sizeable brown arm sat on the armrest. Tanya's eyes widened.

"W-What's the procedure again?" the voice whispered to himself, alarmingly familiar. "Uh, so what's your name, or something?" the man finally turned around in the chair, and the all-too-familiar eyepatch made Tanya's heart freeze for a second as the face registered in her mind.

"B-Badgerclops?!" she yelled as Badgerclops looked Tanya up and down, taking a moment to process the tanuki, too.

"Oh, Tanya!" Badgerclops placed his hands on the table and stood up, causing Tanya to take a step back.

"Y-You work for the underground organization?!" she question, still trying to comprehend the situation.

"What?" Badgerclops asked. "It's too dark in here; I can't understand you." Badgerclops walked over to the opposite wall, flipping a switch. After a brief second, the room was illuminated brilliantly. Turns out that there were actual lights installed into the room, and the ceiling, previously a dark abyss, was painted in golden colors to mimic the rest of the building. The ominous grey and crumbling walls were just a ruse. "There, that's better," he laughed. "What's up?"

"Don't 'What's up?' me!" she said, irritated in confusion. "Why are you questioning me? Do you work with the organization?"

"Uh…, oh!" Badgerclops finally realized why Tanya was confused. "No, no. I, uh, kinda stumbled into here?"

"What do you mean you stumbled into here? Orangusnake said you were captured!"

"Wait, Orangusnake saw me get captured? Since when was he here?"

"So, you were captured."

"Yeah."

"So how did you stumble into here?!"

Badgerclops put his hands up, "Hold up. Gimme a second to explain myself, alright?"

Tanya looked between the badger and the chair. With a sigh, she slid in and placed her paws in her lap. "Go ahead."

"So, like," Badgerclops rubbed the back of his head, "I was captured and all that, but when they brought me down to some dude to collect the bounty, I recognized the overly proper and olde dialect. It reminded me of my days as a villain," he laughed. "Because I didn't really know what else to do, I started copying the dude, relying on my old knowledge of feigning British mannerisms to get me through. Apparently, the dude thought I was some sort of coworker? He instantly jumped onto the little thieves for picking up such an 'educated individual' and claimed that the poster was fake. Man, you should've seen the looks on their faces."

"Wow," Tanya blinked, "I didn't think those guards were _ that _ stupid."

"Apparently so," Badgerclops shrugged. "Anyways, they start praising me for my language or whatever. I'm not trying to get arrested at this point, so I just follow along. They start briefing me on some stuff about interrogation, and here we are," he smiled.

"So, they didn't even think to _ check _ your credentials or _ anything _?"

"Nope. Mine English was 'far too superior for thine ears, a blessing cometh from heaven above,' as they put it."

"That's hilarious, actually," Tanya chuckled. "Only with overzealous idiots."

"So, uh," Badgerclops whistled, "I don't really know what to do here. I think you're free to go?"

"Wait," Tayna leaned forward, "I think I have a clue to where Adorabat is."

"Like, actually?" Badgerclops asked with surprise. "How?"

"A coworker of mine here told me about some strange occurrences going on, where multiple 'missing persons' reports have been filed recently. The thing is, they all had to deal with children."

Badgerclops's face fell. It was one thing for Adorabat to be captured, but to know it was happening more than just her was absolutely devastating. "That's all you got?" he asked solemnly.

"Yeah…" Tayna leaned back again, taking out a leaf and twirling it in her fingers.

Badgerclops looked down for a moment, putting a hand over his mouth as he pondered. "Well, I might be able to find more information from the inside," he said as he put his finger up."That is, of course, if I don't get caught by someone competent." Badgerclops returned the finger to his chin, his brow furrowing as he continued to think. "Hey, have all of these reports been local to the city?"

"Pretty sure," Tanya replied. "I don't see why the city would concern itself with the affairs of others." As Tanya finished, Badgerclops's point clicked in her mind, and she looked up immediately in confusion.

"Exactly," Badgerclops leaned back slightly in the chair. "We don't live anywhere near the City of Commerce, so how can we tell the two events are related?"

"There are too many coincidences. You have those letters leading you all here, and the missing children just so happen to occur at the same time?"

"So, if that's the case," Badgerclops's visage hardened, "someone is deliberately targeting us. Someone who is in charge or related to the missing children here. Most importantly, it would have to be someone who knows us well enough to know we have a child deputy."

Tanya kept twirling her leaf. It didn't make any sense. Running an underground operation in the _ underground _ itself would require someone of high intelligence to lead it, especially since they hadn't been caught yet. Yet, she could think of anyone that smart that would have any inkling of a connection to the Pure Heart Valley.

"So, then," she started, "I guess that's another mystery we'll have to solve."

Badgerclops nodded, looking over to a panel of buttons on the wall. "One of these is to escort you out, or something, so-"

"Wait, can you call in the next person with me still in here?"

"Uh, I think. Why?" he asked, getting up to go and press a button.

"Well, if you call Mittens, and he sees you alone in the room pretending to be an interrogator," Tanya motioned in circles.

"Oh, yeah. That wouldn't hold over well," he laughed, pressing the button to call an escort. "The first witness is gone. Please bring in the cat."

"Alright," a gruff voice came from the other end a few seconds later. Tanya recognized it as Gil's.

Badgerclops looked back to Tanya with a smile for a second, before his eyes widened. "Shoot, I didn't even ask! How'd Mao Mao's test go?"

"Well, he passed," Tanya grinned, putting her feet up on the table.

"'Passed' as in with flying colors?"

Tanya made a funny face. "'Passed' as in he's here. He needed a little help."

"Hm," Badgerclops hummed. "He was never too good with math or reading comprehension. Actually, problem-solving is troublesome for him too, along with general rationalization of any scenarios, or specific compu-"

"The test wasn't anything like that, big guy," Tanya laughed, partially at how far Badgerclops was exposing the poor cat.

"Wait, so how'd you test him exactly?"

"Well," Tanya stood up as she heard the door begin to open, "hopefully you'll get to see that yourself soon."

Badgerclops smiled, even if he wasn't entirely sure what Tanya meant.

* * *

Mao Mao looked down the corridor. He didn't really know what to expect. God knows what they did to Tanya. Slowly he took a few steps forward, jumping as the door closed behind him. Grounding himself firmly, the cat took a few deep breaths. He'd have to calm himself a little bit, or else his interrogator might see him as suspicious. He could do this. It was hard with all the damn static in the back, but he would have to do it anyways. Mao Mao took another step forward, and then another. It wasn't so much walking as hesitantly creeping forward.

The small steps continued until Mao Mao saw the light of the room. It blinded him for a moment, causing him to put up his hand to shield his eyes. As they slowly adjusted, Mao Mao's eyes focused on a particular towering figure staring at him. He recognized the person immediately, from the colors to the shape and the eyepatch. Yet, he stood still, as if he doubted he was actually there. It was as if time froze for a moment, waiting itself for Mao Mao to make a move.

Which he did as he suddenly leaped over the table, diving straight into the badger and causing them both to tumble to the floor. Already, tears of happiness were streaming down the cat's face as he buried himself into Badgerclops's chest.

"O-Oh, God…" he sniffled, trying to hug his partner as hard as he could, "Badgerclops, I've m-missed you."

"Haha, I've missed you too, dude," Badgerclops replied, wiping a tear that had formed in the corner of his eye.

Mao Mao hugged even tighter as if he were afraid this Badgerclops would disappear any moment. That he might become a phantom and leave him alone to all his thoughts again. Alone with all the static. "I-I just…"

_ 'I love you, Badgerclops.' _

The words rang out in Mao Mao's head again, and he instantly froze up. In a split second, Mao Mao had jumped back, standing on guard and confusing Tanya and Badgerclops. What Badgerclops noticed, though, was Mao Mao's sheer look of _ terror _ and _ betrayal _ . A look of absolute despair, as if Mao Mao had just heard the worst news he could possibly ever receive. And it was directed at _ him _.

Mao Mao looked down, averting his eyes. "S-Sorry," he mumbled, "I just, uh, got carried away."

Badgerclops didn't realize he had been holding a hand out. As he blinked, he replied, "Oh, sure, dude…" Badgerclops slowly stood up, watching as the cat twiddled with his thumbs. If Mao Mao had stared at him with the glare any longer, his heart would have probably shattered.

"So, Mittens," Tanya began, calling the cat's attention, "how was the waiting?"

It wasn't until then that Mao Mao had noticed Tanya in the room. "Wait, why is she here? Actually, where is the interrogator?"

"So," Badgerclops cleared his throat, "when I got kidnapped, I was able to infiltrate their ranks. Thus I stand here as your interrogator,'" he finished with a smile.

Mao Mao only looked at him blankly. "Oh," was all that he could muster out.

An awkward and tense silence passed over the trio.

"So, there's no real questioning?" Mao Mao asked, looking at the door behind Badgerclops.

"O-Oh, yeah," Badgerclops moved over to the panel again. Pressing another button, he spoke into the receiver, "Make a path to the holding room, please." A voice of affirmation came from the speaker. "There, the other door should be open now."

"Thank you," Mao Mao said, quickly moving past Badgerclops without even a glance his way. Both Tanya and Badgerclops heard the door creak open, then slam shut with an almost deafening shriek.

The badger looked to Tanya with fallen eyes. "D…" Badgerclops cleared his throat, "Did I do something wrong?"

Tanya was mad. "Don't worry about it, big guy," she said, looking to him with a faux smile. "I'll go make sure he's fine. Just go ahead and call Orangusnake so we can all move through."

"Oh, I didn't know he had followed you two down here. I-I'll do that," he replied hastily as he fumbled to press the correct button, visibly shaken.

Tanya ran to the door, opening it with ferocity. As she closed it, she saw Mao Mao simply walking ahead, seeming unfazed by what he had done.

"Hey, Mittens!" she yelled, causing the cat to glance her way, before returning his head forward, "what the hell was that?!"

"What?" he said nonchalantly.

"You know what I'm talking about," she said, throwing a leaf his direction to quickly poof in front of him and stop him. "That entire thing with Badgerclops, why the hell did you do that?"

"What was I supposed to do?!" Mao Mao yelled, frustrated.

"I dunno, _ not _ act like a weirdo? Not act hostile, maybe just a tad friendly? Act how you normally do? It's not that hard!" Tanya shook her head with an intense stare.

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because!" he yelled, causing Tanya to take a step back. "…it's not going to be the same between us. I-I can't tell him."

"I thought we moved past this," Tanya sighed, her shoulders relaxing slightly. "Remember the conversation we had with Rufus? You told us you could do it."

"I know! But, it's not that simple."

"You're going to have to tell him eventually."

Mao Mao chuckled with shallow breaths. "N-No, I don't. I can just live with this feeling forever; just keep it locked up. I'll be perfectly fine," he spat out, beginning to hyperventilate.

"No, you can't!" Tanya yelled. "Mittens, you're not that strong. No one is that strong."

Mao Mao froze suddenly, looking up to the tanuki with wide eyes. "Not that strong?" he repeated softly as if processing the words as if he'd been shot by a gun. Slowly he started to giggle, "Not that strong, you say?" His face scrunched up, and he pushed a palm into Tanya's chest. "What do you know about my strength?!" he screamed.

Tanya looked with wide eyes, placing a hand over where Mao Mao had pushed her. "I was your partner for a couple of years, damn it! I know a thing or two about you!" she laughed in frustration.

"No, you don't!" Mao Mao moved closer again. "You were my partner for years, and yet you never did a damn thing."

"The hell are you talking about?!"

"You don't know me, you were never even by my side! While I went off and promoted justice, all you did was break whatever damn law you could."

Tanya looked on, visage twisted in confusion and pain, "Mittens, you-"

"That's all you ever did," he continued, bringing his hands up into fists. "I should have never taken advice from you. You don't have morals. Your advice doesn't have meaning. No one's words have meaning. It's all just stupid _ static _."

"Mittens," Tayna put her hand up.

"Everything you ever did was for yourself," Mao Mao took a step back with a glare. "You're selfish, and you've always been. Bend the law when it's convenient for you, huh? Some laws are_ immoral _ , right? That's just a lousy excuse for doing things _ your _ way. I bet you're even trying to help me now for your own personal benefit, _ aren't you _ ? Because you _ never _ cared for anyone, and you never can. You don't have the morals for it. You can't care for a damn thing in this world besides yourself."

There was a long silence between the two. The corridor was quiet, save for Mao Mao's huffing.

"Heh…" Tanya chuckled, taking a step back. She put a hand to her forehead and lifted her head high. A tear was streaming down her face. "Just when I thought you had finally learned something, too," she dryly laughed.

"Mao Mao, I hope you aren't a fool all your life."

A cloud of smoke appeared, causing the cat to shield his eyes. As it finally settled, he found himself alone in the corridor, dressed with a carpet of red velvet and pillars of gold. Somewhere, he heard a radio playing static.

He was left to his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg, hi! I finally got the time to sit down and write this! \o/  
For the longest time, I was suffering with the pacing of the chapter. I didn't like how fast it was moving, so I had to take a short break from writing.  
There are still remnants of the faster pace at the beginning, but I think I slowly found my groove as I kept going. B )  
We're getting closer and closer to the climax! Kinda excited to write it, yay!  
As for promising updates, I'm not gonna say anything because, uh, we saw what happened last time. (Another month, whoops!)  
As always, thank you for the kind comments and kudos! I loved writing this chapter, and I hope you all enjoyed reading it. ^ ^


	9. Realization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mao Mao and Badgerclops talk.

Adorabat looked left and right, before proceeding forward on the ceiling. Every now and then, she’d come down and rest on the floor when there weren’t any guards around. Trying to stay high off of the ground and out of sight was tiresome, for both her wings and feet.

Even so, she wondered if she really needed to keep sneaking around on the ceiling. The last time she had seen a guard was almost fifteen minutes ago. It was as if everyone had decided to go home. She didn’t know if it was from sheer incompetence, or if the guards were just _ that _ sure in their security.

Which, in Adorabat’s opinion, was pretty pathetic.

But maybe the reason they left without any security in place was because they figured any child who escaped would wind up lost in the corridors of the labyrinth they called a building.

Which she very much was.

After a while, the hallways had all begun to look the same, melding into each other and leading her down routes she could have sworn she had already traversed many times over. It was frustrating at first, but frustration slowly morphed into tension before becoming fear.

Adorabat slapped the sides of her cheeks. _ No. _ She couldn’t say she was afraid because that’s not what heroes are. Heroes are strong and _ confident, _ even if they’ve been kidnapped and held hostage in some faux daycare and are currently sneaking around for no reason because their kidnappers didn’t bother instituting any kind of security system. Surely, Adorabat is not alone in her heroic experiences. Surely.

As Adorabat turned the corner, having resorted to walking on the ground because she didn’t feel like flapping her wings again, she came upon a door that was open, leading into a room where a light was still on. Immediately, Adorabat jumped to the ceiling, strengthening her resolution once again. There was movement in the room, a shuffling of a box and a pair, no, two pairs of footsteps. There was yet conversation to be had, but Adorabat inched closer, stopping as she heard a softer, amateurish voice speak.

“I still don’t get this whole daycare thing. Why not lock ‘em up and just send ‘em off whenever the clients are ready?”

Adorabat heard a woman sigh before small _ clicks _from a keyboard filled the room.

“It’s not like we’re trying to traumatize the kids,” she said. “Our job is simply to make them feel a little more welcomed and to ease them into their new lives.”

“Aren’t they going to be traumatized anyway?”

“Sure,” _ click, click, _“but if we can ensure that those feelings are stifled and not directed towards the clients, that makes the investment even better and, in return, makes more money for us.”

Adorabat wasn’t sure what to make of the conversation. Clients? Investment? Money, too? Were all the children going to be sold off? 

“It’s a crazy plan,” Adorabat heard the male voice speak, halting her train of thought to continue listening. “It’s also a little immoral.”

“You really think so?” the woman laughed. “Come look at this.”

Adorabat heard footsteps again, but there was a small period of silence. As much as she wanted to see what was presumably a computer screen with information or pictures loaded up, she didn’t want to risk being caught at this moment. She worried she would make a mistake in her building fatigue.

“We’re giving the people heroes to look up to,” she began again. “You see how small that list is? That’s all of the villains we know of that still pose a great threat; those that are sure to make headlines. A supervillain can only be defeated so many times before they lose their status, you know? How can we have legendary heroes if they take out all the legendary villains?”

Adorabat listened intently. She wondered if the lady knew about Mao Mao because he’s a legendary hero.

“It’s not like there’s an infinite supply of evil, but without a villain, is there such a thing as a hero?” the lady asked, and Adorabat wondered. Of course, her job is to take out all the bad guys ever, but what happens when there are no bad guys left?

“I think it’s all for a greater purpose. Send the kids off with some villains to add to their team, and in return, build the kids up as bad guys so that you give the heroes something to fight. The heroes take down the villains, and people have something to believe in.”

The guy interjects, “So, is this even a bad organization?”

“Certainly not a good one,” the lady giggles. “But you think about who's running this operation, the kind of operation that’s being run, and you figure why it’s being kept secret, yeah?”

Adorabat couldn’t believe what she heard. All the children here were supposed to become villains, including her? This was bad. _ Really bad. _ Plus, who’s running the entire trade? Is it vital that their identity doesn’t get out, but for what reason?

“Man,” the guy laughed, “I should have read the fine print in that contract.”

“Happens to the worst of us, kid,” the woman replied, and before he could retort, a chair squeaked as she stood back up. “Keep sorting through those files, and keep watch of any new client requests that may pop up.” A few footsteps followed, before the sound of a door opening and closing rang throughout the room.

After a second, the man groaned. “I don’t need to do this tonight, do I?” he asked nobody. After a few beats, he seemingly answered his own question as Adorabat heard footsteps approaching. Swiftly, she moved to the corner of the hallway and watched as the man stepped out. In reality, he looked more like a teen, a hooligan raccoon of sorts. Looking left and right, the raccoon kept walking forward. “It’ll be there in the morning,” he said as he turned a corner.

Adorabat waited until the steps were out of earshot and she was left alone with her breathing. Slowly, she moved into the room, seeing a couple of shelves with various boxes around the walls. The most interesting thing, though, was the computer connected to several monitors. In his hastiness to leave the building, the guy left the computer on, unlocked ready to be searched.

“Cool!” Adorabat whispered to herself, moving towards the keyboard as she examined the main monitor precariously. She had hardly ever used a computer herself, Mao Mao limiting much of her interaction with technology after _ that _ incident, but she had a basic idea of everything before her from watching Badgerclops. She wasn’t sure what she would start looking for, but, looking at the time, it didn’t seem like anyone was going to be coming back into the room for a while. The more information Adorabat could get, the more it could help Mao Mao take down this place and save all the kids. That’d definitely make him super legendary!

Setting a wing on the mouse, Adorabat began to work, clicking icons to see everything that was available to her.

* * *

Tanya was riding up the elevator, deflated and looking at her paws, examining each digit individually.

She shouldn’t have lost her cool so easily. Thinking back to the last line she said to the cat, she winced. She couldn’t even recall the last time she had used his real first name, but in the moment, all her care for the cat had disappeared.

Was leaving him in the underground on his own right now a bad decision? _ Oh yeah, _and there was no denying that.

But Tanya needed to get away, if only for a moment. She groaned as the elevator shifted, changing directions again. She absolutely _ hated _ it when he began to take out his problems on those around. It’s draining. Now, she wasn’t blaming him for all the insecurities he held locked down, but it was insufferable to be around. 

And, of course, it wasn’t like she was able to help him, either. Try to, yes, but make any progress? There was only one person that could really comfort him now, and the cat was _ avoiding _him.

As the elevator slowly came to a halt, Tanya sighed and rubbed her left forearm absentmindedly. Even with all that, she would be lying if she said she wasn’t hurt by the cat’s words. Anxiety exacerbated the scenario, making his jabs more exaggerated, but even with that, Mao Mao must have believed his words to a certain extent to even say them.

_ Ugh, _ look at her now, actually being bothered by something someone said. It was laughable. Yet, it was because she cared about the cat. And she cared about what he had to say.

Tanya walked back down the hallway of the restaurant, taking the time to compose herself. She could probably sit down and eat a little, maybe talk with Lydia for a moment. After that, she’d go back underground and face Mao Mao again.

As Tanya parted the portière, she peered into the restaurant. Tanya realized that they had lost track of time, a few hues of orange bleeding into the dark night sky outside the window with no sun in sight. The restaurant still had patrons, but they were fewer and farther spread out.

“I wonder if Lydia already went home for the day,” Tanya spoke softly as she looked around, trying to find any trace of the koala. She approached the counter, where another worker was wiping down the wood. “Excuse me, do you know if Lydia is still here?”

“Hm…” the waiter hummed as he thought about the name. “I think she did. Not too long ago, though, if I’m recalling correctly.”

“Alright, thank you,” Tanya nodded, before walking towards the front door.

As she pushed it open, the fresh air from the sea hit her, amplified by the breeze that fell over the city each night. It was comforting, in a way, a much-needed respite from the stuffiness of the underground. Lydia’s house wasn’t too far from the restaurant, so Tanya decided to slow down for a second and walk along the pavement. It had been a good minute since she had seen as much action as she had today, in a mere span of a few hours, too. The fast-paced action life was definitely not for her. Bless anyone that could do it, but she was not one of those.

Walking up the steps of the koala’s house, Tanya was only able to knock twice before the door swung open, catching the tanuki off guard.

“Camellia?!” the koala shouted with wide eyes, a sound of desperation seeping out as her voice cracked. As her eyes finally settled and focused to see Tanya, Lydia’s visage fell, her arms slowly dropping to her side.

“A-Are you okay, Lydia?” Tanya asked after the shock wore off.

“Gods, Tanya,” the koala brought her hands to her face. “Come in, quickly,” she said as she walked off. Tanya hesitantly walked into the house, closing the door as she flicked on a light, none of which were on before.

“What’s going on? Why were you in the dark?”

The koala sat down in a chair, throwing her head back and inhaling deeply. “I’m trying my best to stay composed. I’m trying so hard not to panic, but it’s getting more difficult as the minutes pass.”

“What is?” Tanya stepped into the living room, sitting adjacent from the distraught koala.

“My girl is missing,” Lydia sobbed out.

Tanya’s eyes instantly went wide with suspicion. “What?! When?”

“I don’t know. She was here in the morning when I left for work, but I come home and she’s gone.”

“And she didn’t just, like, go somewhere without informing you, right?”

“She’s not like that,” Lydia looked to Tanya, her eyes watery. “You know that.”

There was no doubt about it in Tanya’s mind: Lydia’s child had been taken away by the same people that had taken Adorabat, the same people that had been taking all the children in the city.

Tanya looked to Lydia again, seeing how the koala was struggling to control her breathing. Even though Tanya knew where Camellia had gone, it would be bad to tell Lydia that her child had been kidnapped by an unknown organization that was going to sell her off to who-knows-where. Still, she needed to find some way to comfort the koala as she looked for Camellia.

“You know,” Tanya began, “I have access to the room with all the cameras for the city. I can check the footage to see if I saw anything suspicious.”

“R-Really?” Lydia looked up again with wide eyes.

“Yeah. It’ll be no problem for me,” she smiled. Of course, if it had been that easy, this organization wouldn’t have been able to keep up the kidnapping for so long. Her current plan would actually be to rendezvous with Badgerclops, encourage him to keep gathering intel, and help Mao Mao return to his regular self again.

Lydia practically leaped off the couch, embracing Tanya with a tight hug. “Thank the lords!” she cried. “T-Tanya, you’re too kind.”

“It’s nothing, really,” Tanya laughed as she returned the gesture. “I’ll have to get going soon, though.”

“Right, right,” Lydia released the tanuki, smiling for the first time since she had entered her house.

“I’ll come back later with news, so just stay tight!” Tanya yelled as she raced out the door. There wasn’t much time to waste anymore; the sun had fully set over the horizon. She didn’t know how much it was, but as she ran down the pavement toward the restaurant,

she knew that it was running out.

* * *

What else could Mao Mao do?

He sat in the hallway still, simply cradling his head between his legs. Where could he go? The world was suffocating, closing in on him at every moment. It was all too much. He was going to die here if he didn’t move, but he couldn’t move, no matter how hard he tried. He wanted to scream, but he didn’t know what to scream at.

It was just too much. Everything.

“Hey, Mao Mao…” a voice called out from the end of the hallway.

No. He couldn’t face it. He couldn’t face him.

“Hey, it’s okay.”

It wasn’t. There was nothing that was okay. The world was falling apart.

“You’re not alone,” the voice said, slowly getting closer.

There wasn't anything in this world that could save him. He was going to die.

“You don’t have to deal with this yourself,” the voice was looming over him now.

Gently, Mao Mao felt himself come off the ground.

No. No.

No, no. No, n-no! No! No, n o. N-N o No nO n- O NO no nO NO n o -noNonOnnONo

_ No! _

Badgerclops winced as he felt the cat’s claws tear into his back again. Even still, he hugged the cat tightly, bearing through the pain and continually whispering into his partner’s ears. It _ was _ going to be okay, and Mao Mao _ didn’t _have to face his fears alone. He just had to get through to the cat, who was shivering wildly and muttering the same word over and over again.

Slowly, Badgerclops felt Mao Mao’s paws retreat, and the shaking lessened. He continued to whisper as the cat’s arms fell to his sides before Mao Mao went limp in his arms. Badgerclops looked down, and the cat’s eyes were hollow, unfocused and empty.

Badgerclops shifted to holding the cat with one arm, using the other to press Mao Mao’s head into his chest and shield his eyes. He looked up to the interrogation room, where Orangusnake was still peeking an eye out, afraid to move down the hallway. Badgerclops motioned that the situation was fine, and the villain began walking towards the holding room.

“Thank you for letting me know he was still in the hallway,” Badgerclops said softly as they passed each other. “I’ll be a moment, in case Tanya is still waiting for everyone in the room.” Orangusnake nodded, looking at the cat hesitantly, as they continued their separate ways.

Badgerclops opened the door again, the bright lights still on from having uncovered the faux interrogation room. Badgerclops walked over and flicked the lights off, the room returning to its brooding, ominous aura.

Badgerclops walked to a corner, careful not to rouse Mao Mao from his broken stupor as he sat down and placed his back against the wall. He inhaled sharply, remembering the wounds the cat had just placed on him. He was going to have to disinfect all that later, which sucked, but didn’t matter much now. Using his free hand, Badgerclops began to gently pet the cat, his claws softly caressing the wild, shambolic fur. He didn’t know when Mao Mao would come back to his senses, but that was okay. Whenever it happened, Badgerclops would be there for him, as he always has.

* * *

Nothing. Mao Mao was surrounded in darkness. Everywhere he looked, he was met with black. In reality, Mao Mao wasn’t even sure he existed or was there. Everything just felt _ empty. _

Then, Mao Mao pulled his brown plush, feeling the velvet under his small paws. Looking up again, he realized he was on a large couch. Everything looked as if it was tinted by a sepia filter. Mao Mao looked down to see his cat plush, only for his eyes to land on the red sash that ran across his torso, fastened to his shorts with a single, large golden button.

In the next room over, he heard his father talking to someone while the radio made noise softly.

Hopping off the couch, Mao Mao dragged the plush behind him, walking into the room and watching his father speak into a telephone, scribbling down notes as he did. As he finished, he set the phone down and examined the notes.

“Daddy,” the cat said in a much higher-pitched voice, “can we go train in the dojo now?”

“Who’s that?” the sonorous voice came, turning around and looking for a person before his eyes fell onto the small child. “Oh, erm,” he coughed, “not now. I’m listening for important stuff.”

“Through the radio?”

“Yes.”

Mao Mao looked to the radio. Even though it was faint, nothing intelligible was coming out of it. It was pure static.

“When will you be able to watch me? You always say-”

“Moo Moo, please,” Shin Mao said as his hand reached for the knob. “I need to listen.”

But there was nothing to listen to. It was just louder static.

Mao Mao’s face grew red. At that moment, from some strange insecurity or prophecy of the future, Mao Mao felt his father would never look at him. He’d never see him as being anything important. Not even his own son.

“J-Just watch me!” Mao Mao yelled, tearing up as he tried to be louder than the static. “I can do it, but w-watch me!”

Shin Mao rolled his eyes, picking up the phone and pressing a button. “Brunhilde, would you be a dear and come get your brother? He’s being a nuisance while I’m trying to work.” As he hung up the phone again, he turned up the radio even more.

“Watch me! Please!” Mao Mao sobbed continuously, but every time he did, Shi Mao simply turned the static up, louder and louder.

It was deafening. More than deafening. It drowned out everything. Mao Mao didn’t even realize he was screaming as Brunhilde carried him away, nor did Shin Mao care as he looked over his notes, the static blaring and consuming everything.

Consuming him.

Just as soon as Mao Mao thought the static would destroy him entirely, the noise stopped. Instead, Mao Mao felt something caressing the back of his head. His head rose and fell with something soft, yet firm, rhythmically.

“You awake?” Mao Mao heard the voice, only slightly louder than a whisper. Ever so slightly, Mao Mao lifted his head to see Badgerclops smiling down at him.

“Y-Yeah…” Mao Mao mumbled, letting his head fall back onto Badgerclops’s chest.

“That’s good,” Badgerclops said, continuing to pet the cat.

For a while, neither said a word. It wasn’t that they were scrambling for words to say, nor a tense atmosphere prevented them from speaking, but rather that no words were needed. They were in each other’s embrace, and that was enough.

Memories of how Mao Mao had reacted with Badgerclops when they first reunited came back in a deluge. “Hey,” Mao Mao began, a little worried.

“Hm?”

“D-Did I hurt you again?” Mao Mao asked tentatively.

Badgerclops realized that the cat must not have remembered the moments right before he passed out. “Nah, you didn’t,” he smiled.

Mao Mao let out a breath he had been holding, relaxing even more into the badger. “That’s good,” he said.

Another silence passed over the two, but words did hang in the air this time. A feeling accompanied it, one which both of them realized. Neither knew if the other would act on it first, though, so they waited. 

“I think,” Badgerclops started, drawing Mao Mao’s attention, “I think we’re all afraid of something.”

Mao Mao chuckled. “You think?”

“Well, I know. We’re all afraid of something. And that fear manifests in ways that, sometimes, we don’t know how to handle. These fears eat at us, and we’re left empty from something that came within. Isn’t that a little funny? I think that this entire trip or adventure we’ve been on, our most dangerous threat hasn’t been anything from the outside, like this organization or any lowly thugs—hell, not even that monstrous octopus that almost killed me—but rather something from our own psyche.

“Sometimes, it’s calm and patient, sitting passively in the back of our minds as we do the things we enjoy or love. Other times, it’s a violent maelstrom of anxiety, tearing us away from the moment into something that haunts us. I don’t know if there are triggers, or maybe it’s just a random lottery being drawn every few moments to see if you’re lucky enough to be okay for a second.

“What I do know, though, is that there are remedies: things to alleviate and soothe that fear. And if there are remedies, there are paths to healing. It may not entirely be gone, and it may even return sometimes, but the point isn’t to cure it, but to be able to live without it inhibiting your every waking moment.”

Mao Mao’s breaths were shorter now. Badgerclops was still petting him, but he was afraid. Even after everything, he was scared. He wanted to beat himself up. He didn’t deserve it, or anything for that matter.

“Hey,” Badgerclops moved in closer again as he felt Mao Mao tensing up again, touching his forehead to the cat’s, “it’s okay. I’m here.”

“A-Are you?” Mao Mao asked.

At that, Badgerclops chuckled slightly, catching the cat off guard. “Dude, I’ve always been here.”

Silence.

It wasn’t that Mao Mao didn’t know how to respond, but that he was still processing what Badgerclops had told him. He couldn’t refute that. Ever since they had first met, Badgerclops _ had _been there for him, through thick and thin.

“A-And…” Mao Mao cleared his throat, but the words still weren’t coming out. He wanted to cry. He was so close, but he couldn’t get there.

“Hey, hey,” Badgerclops whispered, “take your time. It’s okay.”

A moment passed as Mao Mao swallowed, waiting for the words to come out.

“I-I want you…to keep being there for me,” he finally said.

Badgerclops nodded as he smiled. “And I will.”

Mao Mao inhaled for a moment, and in that inhalation, he found confidence he had never felt before. It wasn’t particularly strong, but it was enough for now.

“Badgerclops,” he softly laughed, “sometimes, it feels like the world’s collapsing in on me. Sometimes, I think everyone is out to get me. Sometimes, I think that I don’t deserve anything. That I should just let the world consume me and disappear.

“But…you’re my remedy. Whenever I’m with you, the static turns down. I can hear myself and the world around me with you. When I’m with you, I feel like I am _ something_, and I feel like I don’t need anything to just be myself.

“I…” Mao Mao had to pause for a second, “I want the static to go away forever. And I know that that’s not possible, but I want to try still. I know how to try, too, but I’ve just been so afraid. You’re right that we’re all afraid. I’m afraid of not finding Adorabat and had it not been for my remedy, I would have never been able to even leave the house to look for her. I would still be in the Valley, resigning myself to something so horrible.

“But you were there for me. You told me I’d be okay, and now we’re so close to finding her. I wouldn’t have been able to do that myself, and I know it. I know I’m not okay right now, but I want to be. I want you to keep telling me I’ll be okay because whenever you do, I think it slowly becomes true. I want to keep believing you. I want to be okay.”

“Mao Mao,” Badgerclops put a claw to the cat’s chin and raised it so that they were eye to eye, their faces mere inches from each other, “you don’t have to be _ just _ okay.”

“W-What do you mean?”

Badgerclops laughed. “What I said is what I mean. You don’t have to be _ just _ okay. You can be happy.” Badgerclops blushed and cleared his throat. “ _ We _can be happy.”

Mao Mao stared in shock. He knew what Badgerclops meant, but he couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want to act on it either, in case he was wrong, which he knew he wasn’t.

Still, without even thinking, Mao Mao slowly moved closer, hesitant. His body was screaming that he was wrong, that whatever he was feeling couldn’t be true. He wanted to jump back, and he almost did.

Badgerclops gave a gentle smile. To reassure Mao Mao, he moved in and touched his lips to the cat’s own.

Mao Mao tensed up instantly, but as soon as the fear had come, it vanished again as his shoulders slumped. Suddenly, it felt like he could believe in Badgerclops. Even though they were still in the dark, the room no longer seemed ominous, but rather dark in a pleasant manner, as if this was the rest the couple needed from everything they had been through the past few days.

Badgerclops felt something wet hit his cheek. He opened his eyes to see tears streaming down Mao Mao’s face. Confused, he moved back and asked with concern, “Why are you crying?”

Mao Mao giggled as he wiped his tears away. “Because,” he said in between sniffles, “you love the parts of me that I hate the most.”

“I’ll tell you everything that I love about you. I’ll teach you all of that, and I’ll help you learn to love those parts, too,” Badgerclops replied as he began to wipe a tear away, too.

For the first time since Mao Mao had woken up, he got up from Badgerclops’s lap and kneeled in front of him. “I think I can say it now.”

“Hit me with it, then.”

Mao Mao cleared his throat, but he found the words weren’t stuck anymore. They flowed out freely as he said, “I love you, Badgerclops.”

Badgerclops grinned. “I love you too, Mao Mao.”

Mao Mao jumped into Badgerclops, sending them both tumbling to the floor as they laughed. In a few moments, they would have to go out into the chaos of their adventure again, trying to find Adorabat in a completely unfamiliar area. They’d have to deal with all the worries that have accompanied them throughout the entire trip.

But for right now, they could be happy in each other's arms. Right now, they could find comfort in a whirlwind of stress.

And if all they needed was each other, maybe they could find comfort outside of this room, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW. IT'S BEEN A MINUTE, HUH?  
Quickly want to apologize for the TWO-month wait! I'm sure life has been crazy for everyone around.  
However, I really hope that this chapter was worth the wait! Even though the show is on hiatus, writing this story has remained one of my most favorite things. I feel like I've transformed these characters in such a way that I just adore them, and I'm going to be sad to see this story wrap up. (Even though I do want to do a sequel, it's coming up fast!)  
Anyway, thank you all for being patient, and for the kudos! I hope you've enjoyed reading this chapter. ^ ^


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